The ComicBook Nation crew review Transformers One, and it's Peak Geek TV time again with Agatha All Along, The Penguin and Zack Snyder's anime Twilight of the Gods all premiering this week!

PLUS: The Clue movie reboot may have a director; the Transformers & G.I. Joe movie gets an update; Zack Snyder's 300 TV series is happening - and Netflix's One Piece Season 2 drops some major casting surprises!

Transformers One Review

Here's what ComicBook Nation's Anime Initiative host Evan Valentine had to say about his 4-star review of Transformers One:

I would be remiss by not calling this the best Transformers film since the 1980s animated film. If this is the future of the Transformers franchise, then Autobot and Decepticons fans have a bright future to look forward to indeed.

The Penguin Review

ComicBook's Jenna Anderson had the following to say in her 4.5 out of 5 star review of The Penguin:

Across its eight episodes, The Penguin redefines what verisimilitude can mean in the world of comic book adaptations. The grittiness, violence, and double-crossing that fans would expect from the title are abundantly present, but balanced with a truly heartfelt take on loss, rebirth, and personal agency. The series is not only one of the better crime dramas in recent memory, it is one of the best examples of how to branch out decades of beloved lore.The Penguin is simply a show about people trying to thrive in a world much bigger and weirder than they can even comprehend - a subject that would be universal nonetheless, but transforms into something special with its engrossing performances.

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The Star Trek universe is in for a big change in 2025 in Star Trek: Lore War. As teased in this week's milestone Star Trek #500, Lore, Commander Data's twisted brother, has used the power of a Bajoran Orb to remake reality, replacing the old Star Trek universe with one more to his liking. Now that Lore has taken on the role of a god, what comes next? Star Trek fans will find out in Lore War, the culmination of two years of storytelling in IDW's Star Trek comics line, which began with the prelude story in Star Trek #400 and has continued through Star Trek, Star Trek: Defiant, and more.

Star Trek: Lore War #1 kicks off Star Trek's second-ever comic book crossover event (the first being IDW's previous Day of Blood event), from Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Christopher Cantwell, and Davide Tinto. The story continues in the pages of Star Trek, Star Trek: Defiant, and more one-shot specials to come.

"This is it. The moment we've been building to since the Theseus left spacedock and the Defiant was stolen," Lanzing says in a press release. "The ultimate Star Trek comics crossover event - as the heroes and villains of the galaxy must band together to defend its very existence."

"Since the line's inception, our grander story in both titles has dealt with Star Trek's concept of godlike beings and the rejection of those godlike beings -- order and entropy as it exists throughout the four quadrants of the galaxy," added Cantwell. "Who pulls the strings and who dares to cut them? Lore War is quite literally the apotheosis of that shared theme, two years in the making."

"The gods are dead, and only one mad android holds the reins of our universe. With absolute power comes absolute corruption... but does it come with absolute control?" stated Kelly. "Featuring the incredible art of Davide Tinto - a newcomer to the Trek world - we're not settling for anything less than the most impressive and world-ending Star Trek event that comics can contain."

Group Editor Heather Antos adds, "It's all been building to this moment. No, literally. From the original prelude in Star Trek #400 two years ago the road map has always led to Lore War. When Collin, Jackson, and Christopher first embarked on this mission we asked the question 'Can a man be both man and a god?' Well now Lore is answering."

Star Trek: Lore War #1 releases on March 26th. Star Trek #500 is on sale now.

With Star Trek Day 2024 just around the corner on September 8th, Paramount Home Entertainment has revealed that the fully restored Star Trek: The Motion Picture will get a limited edition 4K Blu-ray Steelbook edition to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the film. This follows a Director's Edition and a limited-edition Collector's Set entitled "The Complete Adventure" that launched in 2022.

The Star Trek: The Motion Picture 4K Blu-ray Steelbook edition will come packaged with the original theatrical cut in 4K Blu-ray, a bonus remastered Blu-ray, and exclusive booklet with behind the scenes images and info from the film. It's available to pre-order here on Amazon now with a release date set for November 19th. Details about previously released 4K editions of the film can be found below.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture--The Director's Edition 4K Ultra HD - See on Amazon: The newly restored, definitive version of the first big-screen adventure is presented in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, as well as Dolby Atmos. Also includes access to a Digital copy of the film and the following new and legacy bonus content:

Ultra HD Disc bonus features:

• Audio Commentary with David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren R. Dochterman--NEW!
• Audio Commentary by Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins
• Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda

Blu-ray Disc bonus features:

• The Human Adventure--An all-new 8-part documentary detailing how the Director's Edition came to life--NEW!
• Preparing the Future - How the remastering began
• A Wise Choice - The storied history of Robert Wise
• Refitting the Enterprise - How the Enterprise design shaped future federation starships
• Sounding Off - Exploring new dimensions of sound in Dolby Atmos
• V'ger - The conception and restoration of an iconic alien antagonist
• Return to Tomorrow - Reaching an already high bar with new CGI effects
• A Grand Theme - Behind the iconic, influential music score that shaped the franchise's future
• The Grand Vision - The legacy and evolving reputation of this classic movie
• Deleted Scenes--NEW!
• Effects Tests--NEW!
• Costume Tests--NEW!
• Computer Display Graphics--NEW!
• Additional legacy bonus content

Star Trek: The Motion Picture--The Director's Edition--The Complete Adventure 4K Ultra HD - See on Amazon: This Limited-Edition Collector's Set includes all of the above, plus an additional 4K Ultra HD disc containing:

• The Theatrical Cut
• The first-ever widescreen presentation of the Special Longer Version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, originally created for broadcast television in 1983

The set is presented in deluxe packaging along with exclusive collectibles, including reproductions of original promotional material, a booklet with behind-the-scenes images, stickers, and more.

Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection - See on Amazon: This comprehensive 15-disc collection includes the first six big-screen adventures featuring the original series crew in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR-10. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture--The Director's Edition also includes Dolby Atmos). Both Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country are making their 4K Ultra HD debuts. The set also includes access to Digital copies of each of the six films, as well as hours of new and legacy bonus content. Below is a breakdown of disc contents:

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition - Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Additional Blu-ray with bonus content
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Theatrical Cut) - Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Includes Director's Cut
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Includes Director's Cut

Star Trek Day is approaching, commemorating the first day that Star Trek TOS premiered on TV screens (September 8, 1966). This year, the franchise has partnered with Code.org (which teaches computing to grade-school students), DoSomething.org (promoting youth social activism), and Outright International (an LGBTIQ inclusion and global equality initiative), to launch the campaign "Take the Chair, Make an Impact." It will be a "global campaign encouraging fans to embrace the optimistic vision of a brighter future and to give back to the inclusive community of fans that Star Trek has fostered over the years."

The main theme of this year's digital experience event is having fans take a seat in the captain's chair of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and ask themselves a profound question: "What would I do if I were setting the course to the future?" All fans will be able to engage in that topic digitally, over on StarTrek.com. During September, 25% of all Star Trek product sales in the US will be donated to the three nonprofits above.

Star Trek Day 2024 will also offer various pop-up activations that fans can experience, where they will be able to literally "Take the Chair," snap photos, "obtain a personalize admission and receive a limited edition enamel pin."

• Taste of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., which will feature the U.S.S. Enterprise captain's chair, will run Sept. 6-8 from 11am - 7pm
• ALEXA Mall, Berlin, Germany, featuring a modern architectural interpretation of the captain's chair crafted from sustainable materials, will run on Sept. 8 from 1pm - 6pm
• Richmond Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, featuring a modern architectural interpretation of the captain's chair crafted from sustainable materials, will run on Sept. 8 from 11am - 7pm

Finally, Paramount is will be offering a free sampling of Star Trek content. Viewers will get select episodes of Star Trek TV series offered to them for free, as well as a handful of shorts from the Star Trek: Short Treks series. The content will be offered through the Paramount+ free content page (for US viewers), as well as partnership platforms like Amazon, Roku, and Apple, the Paramount+ YouTube page, and Pluto TV.

Full list of Free Star Trek Day 2024 Episodes

• Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage"
• Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint, Part I & II"
• Star Trek: Voyager, "Caretaker, Part I & II"
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "The Emissary, Part I & II"
• Star Trek: Enterprise, "Broken Bow Part I & II"
• Star Trek: The Animated Series, "Beyond the Farthest Star"
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, "Strange New Worlds"
• Star Trek: Lower Decks, "Second Contact"
• Star Trek: Discovery, "The Vulcan Hello"
• Star Trek: Picard, "Remembrance"
• Star Trek: Short Treks - "The Girl Who Made the Stars," "The Trouble with Edward," "Ask Not," "Runaway," and "Ephraim and Dot"

via: StarTrek.com

James Darren, the former teen idol who played Vic Fontaine in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has died. He was 88 years old. The actor and musician, whose breakout role was as Moondoggie, the singing, surfing leading man in the Gidget movies, became a fairly household name when his song "Goodbye Cruel World" hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The actor played the lounge singer across seven episodes of Deep Space Nine's final two seasons, and became a fan-favorite recurring character.

Born James William Ercolani on June 8, 1936, in Philadelphia, Darren would take on his stage name in 1955 when he moved to Hollywood, reportedly naming himself after the Kaiser-Darrin sports car. He signed a deal with Columbia, and played minor roles in several movies between 1956 and 1959, as well as appearing on TV's The Donna Reed Show. It would only be a few years before he broke through in 1959's Gidget. He would do two sequels -- Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget Goes to Rome -- before moving on from the role.

In those early days, Darren palled around with the Rat Pack, and remained close to some of those legendary performers for years, even being named godfather to Frank Sinatra's granddaughter.

Darren worked in feature films almost exclusively in the 1960s, but embraced TV starting in the 1970s, leading The Time Tunnel and the sci-fi pilot The Man From the 25th Century. All throughout, he continued to tour as part of his music career, making sure he kept busy year round.

In the 1970s, Darren would appear as a guest star in shows like S.W.A.T., Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island before taking on a series regular role on T.J. Hooker, in which he would star alongside Star Trek legend William Shatner., Besides Deep Space Nine, his '90s acting included roles on Silk Stalkings, Diagnosis: Murder, and Melrose Place.

Even when he embraced acting, Darren would regularly incorporate song and dance into his roles, from Gidget all the way up through his lounge-singing days in space.

After Deep Space Nine, Darren largely retired from acting, appearing only in a pair of feature films -- 2001's Random Acts and 2017's Lucky. In 1999, he released an album of the songs he had performed on Deep Space Nine, and did only two more records during the last 20 years of his life.

According to TheWrap, Darren's son Jim Moret has told the media that his father had a scheduled heart surgery last week, but that the procedure was considered too high risk because Darren was so weak at the time. He was sent home, but returned to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center sometime after. Darren passed away there, surrounded by family.

While his time on Deep Space Nine was short, relative to his illustrious and decades-long career, Darren had nothing but positive things to say about it in interviews.

"I loved... everybody," he told StarTrek.com in 2021. "There wasn't a single person who I didn't have a good relationship with, whether it was on the set, on screen, or off. They were all incredibly considerate and kind, to say the least."

Darren is survived by his wife, actress and former Miss Denmark Evy Norlund, and their two sons. Our condolences go out to Mr. Darren's family, friends, collaborators and fans during this difficult time.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has officially started production, as marked by new photos shared from the set of this latest Star Trek Universe TV series. The Photos show the principal cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy outside "The Star Trek Stage" studio where Paramount shoots its Star Trek content; the second Photo reveals the cast and crew (like Star Trek Universe head Alex Kurtzman) gathered around for what looks like a table read.

A caption on the photos reads: "School is in session, cadets! Today marks the official start of production as the #StarTrek Stage welcomes #StarfleetAcademy."

As you can see in the comments on the post, there is some muted hype for Starfleet Academy, right now. A lot of Star Trek fans were hoping that hype for Star Trek: Picard's third and final season would segue into a "Star Trek: Legacy" spinoff - which was admittedly teased by the ending of the Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Finale. The son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher and daughters of Geordi La Forge all came together and stepped up to help their parents (and the rest of the Enterprise-D crew) defeat the Borg and save Starfleet. That epic origin story looked like it would segue into a series following the next generation after Star Trek: TNG; instead, we're getting the successor series to Star Trek: Discovery, which took things into the 32nd Century, and a time when the Federation's presence was greatly diminished, after the cataclysmic event known as "The Burn" caused every active warp core to denoate. The Discovery crew helped solve the mystery of The Burn, and restore the values and mission of Starfleet - leading to a new generation of cadets being recruited for the interstellar organization.

Synopsis: "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself."

The new series features Star Trek newcomers like Holly Hunter, playing a Starfleet captain serving as the current chancellor of Starfleet Academy, and Paul Giamatti as the season's main villain. Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Dian?, and Zo? Steiner star as Starfleet Academy students, while Gina Yashere (Bob Hearts Abishola) will have a recurring role as an academy instructor.

There will also be a number of legacy characters from previous Star Trek projects returning for Starfleet Academy - including actors Tig Notaro (Jett Reno), Oded Fehr (Fleet Admiral Charles Vance), and Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly) of Star Trek: Discovery and Robert Picardo (The Doctor/Lewis Zimmerman) of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Prodigy

Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau are the showrunners of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, as well as serving as executive producers. Other executive producers working on the series include Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa, and John Weber. Violo wrote Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's premiere episode.

Star Trek: Starfleet Acadeemy does not yet have a premiere date. It will stream on Paramount+.

At one point, it was widely reported Quentin Tarantino was going to helm a film in the Star Trek franchise, surprising longtime fans of the auteur. After all, the director has long said he's going to retire from filmmaking once he makes 10 movies, a sum he'll reach with the release of his next picture. Because of that, Tarantino says, his Star Trek movie is never going to happen.

"It's never going to happen. There's been so much misinformation about what it was going to be--nothing but misinformation. I live in a special zone and part of my zone is because I'm not on Instagram and Facebook, I'm not creating this constant dialogue with the world with what's going on with my life," Tarantino explained on the latest episode of Bill Maher's podcast. "Consequently, if you're Joe Schlomoka and you're some transient reporter of some kind, if you hear Quentin is going to make a Star Trek movie or a make a movie called The Movie Critic, or any f--king thing, it's a little bit like that guy who wrote the Howard Hughes biography that ended up being a hoax. The thing is, they can say anything. My point being though, they write it in a show biz magazine and then that gets picked up in 140 pieces because I'm not shutting that down because I'm not connected."

Interestingly enough, screenwriter Mark L. Smith has said he penned a script based on a story idea by Tarantino, suggesting he was, at least at one point, attached to a Star Trek project.

"Quentin and I went back and forth; he was gonna do some stuff on it, and then he started worrying about the number, his kind of unofficial number of films," Smith told Collider last year. "I remember we were talking, and he goes, 'If I can just wrap my head around the idea that Star Trek could be my last movie, the last thing I ever do. Is this how I want to end it?' And I think that was the bump he could never get across, so the script is still sitting there on his desk."

Smith continued, "I know he said a lot of nice things about it. I would love for it to happen. It's just one of those things that I can't ever see happening. But it would be the greatest 'Star Trek' film, not for my writing, but just for what Tarantino was gonna do with it. It was just a balls-out kind of thing."