Hotel Mumbai Wants To Leave Its Audience With A Message

Hotel Mumbai Wants To Leave Its Audience With A Message

In the wake of tragedies like the one that took place at the Taj Hotel in 2008, people start to ask questions surrounding the aftermath of such an event. The same is true for when people see those incidents depicted on film, much as Hotel Mumbai takes that very terrorist attack and commits it to the silver screen. The one question that tends to unite the two subjects is, of course, what can be learned through such atrocities, be it through their direct examination or their cinematic dissection. In that same spirit, I asked co-writer/director Anthony Maras what he wanted audiences to take away from his film, and he explained to CinemaBlend:

The one thing I think that’s important to try and get across to audiences is this idea that even in the darkest of times, we can find a common humanity that can get us through. Again, when you have people from all these different backgrounds coming together to survive, and find a common humanity, I think is important.

This question was among others CinemaBlend had asked him during the recent press day for Hotel Mumbai's theatrical release. In the case of Maras, the film's ultimate purpose is to show that even in the darkest of times, the recurring theme of common humanity mustn't be forgotten. While there were those who perpetrated such heinous acts on that fateful day in November 2008, there was also a heroic compliment of staff members at the Taj Hotel, as well as a number of guests, who banded together and worked to survive the unthinkable together.

Naturally, no matter how much a person can understand the survival instinct of the victims depicted in Hotel Mumbai, there's also another key component of the equation to understand: The actions of those who committed said acts. This is what one of the film's stars, Dev Patel, discussed with us. When asked to provide what he felt the film's big takeaway, he offered this:

I feel we’re in a society now where everything is so temporary, so fleeting. You know, you can read something or watch something on the news that is so horrific, and then maybe you might go to the extent of texting a friend about it. Then you’ll go, ‘alright, back to my breakfast then.’ To create a movie like this, and to make people actually simmer in a situation, actually force them to really be in it, and understand it, the nuts and bolts of the situation. To understand the sheer suffering that people went through, to see the blank look in those young teenagers’ eyes, wielding those AK-47s. It’s really important, I think, at the pace things are going at today.

What Patel describes above is certainly one of the reasons why Hotel Mumbai works as well as it does. Rather than just focusing on one particular side or facet of participants, the film takes a more robust look at both sides of the action. While we obviously see the hostages trying to survive throughout various parts of the hotel, we do also see those who carry out the acts of terrorism coming into Mumbai.

The film shows their ultimate motivation, as these young men take their actions as holy charges set upon them by their overseer; a man who encourages them to keep him on the phone so he can hear the screams and carnage take place. Digging into that portion of the subject a little deeper, Dev Patel, who also serves as an executive producer on Hotel Mumbai, had the following remarks to offer:

To put a microscope to those sorts of situations, because they once probably were a rarity, and now they’re not. It’s sad to say, but it feels like it’s a trend. And solving it is not gonna be getting more guns, it’s by understanding that the root of the cancer. We need education and things like that. I really hope that films like this can do that by shaking people from their core, electrifying them into action and discussion.

At its best, films can help educate the world and instill a sense of empathy for victims of historical events such as the attack on the Taj Hotel. It was with that intent that Anthony Maras and Dev Patel set off to make Hotel Mumbai the admirable film that it is, and it testifies to the power of understanding both sides of history when discussing such events. By feeling and processing this infamous series of events, people can begin to truly work through their recurrence, in hopes that one day it won't ever have to happen again. You can hear such a message resonate in the tones of both Maras and Patel's voices, as they speak through the video provided from our interviews below:

Hotel Mumbai opens in theaters on Friday.

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How Interstellar Turned Christopher Nolan Into An Actual Corn Farmer

How Interstellar Turned Christopher Nolan Into An Actual Corn Farmer

Christopher Nolan is one of the premier filmmakers of the 21st century. Nolan, along with his brother and collaborator, Jonathan, is complex and unique writer of modern masterpieces. As a director, Nolan’s films are visually stunning. Did you know that he also learned how to grow corn too?

It was something you may not have paid much conscious attention to in his 2014 hit Interstellar, but it was a crucial bit of filmmaking with a fascinating story behind it. Read on to learn how this happened.

Christopher Nolan Has Always Taken On Big Challenges As A Filmmaker

Christopher Nolan’s breakout film, 2000’s Memento, was a surprise hit that bent time and followed a nonlinear narrative to tell the story of a man with short-term memory loss searching for his wife’s killer. For a budget of just $9 million, Nolan did amazing things. It established his style as a filmmaker that takes risks to make sure he gets the best possible shots, something that he would take to extremes in Interstellar. It also established his penitent for time-bending stories, like Inception.

In his Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan created a completely original world that totally turned the often-told story of Batman on its head. He changed the way the world sees Batman, something that had not been done since Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, which was also praised for its unique style. It’s not easy to take such a well-known story and create something completely original, but he did that beautifully.

His most recent film, 2017's Dunkirk, was an enormous undertaking in his quest to find a unique approach to the classic World War II film genre. From the thousands of extras on the beaches of France to the incredible dogfighting scenes in the planes above them to the enormous flotilla of every kind of boat imaginable coming to save the day, Dunkirk is a visual masterpiece. It is also a film with very minimal use of computer-generated imagery, the lack of which is something that has become a calling card of sort for Nolan in his films.

But how is he as a farmer? Specifically, a corn farmer? And WHY is he – or why WAS he – a corn farmer? Taking a peak behind the scenes of his 2014 hit Interstellar explains why he grew a huge field of corn, in a place that doesn’t usually support corn, and then sold the corn for an actual profit!

Christopher Nolan's Real Corn Is Better Than CGI Corn In Interstellar

In a film world where CGI is king, Christopher Nolan has become something of a traditionalist. Dunkirk is praised for its old-fashioned approach to filmmaking, using models and miniatures to create the special effects instead of relying on a computer to draw them in. Dunkirk was not the first time Nolan has dismissed the modern approach, nor was it the riskiest. Back in 2014, he and the other producers chose to grow a corn field to serve as the farm for Matthew McConaughey’s character, Joseph Cooper, in Interstellar.

Corn Is Crucial To The Plot Of Interstellar

If you don’t remember why the protagonist of Interstellar, Joseph Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey was hurdling through a wormhole near Saturn in hopes of finding a new planet for humankind to colonize due to “The Blight.” The Blight was never fully explained, except that it started sometime before McConaughey’s character joined NASA. The blight had wiped out most of the plants on Earth, with corn and okra being the last two viable crops, and okra was on its last legs, according to Christopher Nolan’s script.

Christopher Nolan Was Not The First Filmmaker To Grow Corn

Zack Snyder did it for Man Of Steel, and in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Christopher Nolan revealed that he spoke with Snyder about it:

Luckily, [director] Zack [Snyder] had grown a bunch of corn, so I said, 'How much can you really grow practically?'

Sometimes two directors sharing notes with one another can lead to great things.

Interstellar’s Corn Wasn’t Easy To Grow

In the script for Interstellar, the setting for the farm was written as being surrounded by corn fields with mountains in the distance. There are not a lot of places in the world, apparently, that can have both. So the filmmakers were taking a $100K gamble to grow corn in Western Canada, outside Calgary, where the film was shot. To be honest, it doesn’t seem like THAT big of a risk. Interstellar was a film with a $165 million budget. The craft services were probably more than $100K.

The Corn Wasn’t Supposed To Last

But a risk it was, as they were told the corn would fail by most experts. Christopher Nolan probably didn’t care if it failed in the long run. Obviously for him, the only important thing was how it looked on the screen. It’s always interesting to find out about the seemingly inconsequential details that filmmakers deal with. The producers had to do a lot of research and bring in consultants just to grow one of the most abundant crops on Earth. Would it really have made a difference if the corn was CGI? Or if the mountains in the background were? Well, yeah, it would have.

CGI Would Not Have Looked As Good

This is what separates directors like Christopher Nolan from others. He is willing to go every extra mile to make his vision come true on the screen and when it works, just like Dunkirk, it is glorious. The corn fields in Interstellar are something most movie-goers may not pay that much attention to, consciously, but subconsciously, given the importance of the crop to the plot, this attention to detail and fully immersive process makes for a stunning achievement and adds considerable depth to the film.

To compare, compare the look of the corn in Interstellar with the clearly CGI corn field in another Zack Snyder film, Justice League. That comparison clearly illustrates the difference, and frankly, it is stark. It’s not really a fair comparison, as Christopher Nolan’s looks cleaner, brighter, more authentic, and much better.

The Corn Did Last And It Made Money

According to Nolan in the Hollywood Reporter interview, the corn turned a profit. In his words:

In the end, we got a pretty good crop, and we actually made money on this.

Still, I can’t help but wonder how much money was lost when Cooper tore through the field chasing a drone, crushing thousands of stalks.

So what do you think? Was the huge undertaking worth it or would a CGI corn field had the same visual effect? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the poll and comments below.

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First Look At Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker's New Droid And Aliens

First Look At Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker's New Droid And Aliens

The Star Wars Episode IX panel at Star Wars Celebration did not disappoint when it came to reveals. While we certainly are still missing many pieces of the puzzle, we did finally get the film's title and our first look at some of the action. However, the panel also teased us with a collection of new Star Wars aliens and other creatures, and as usual, they look amazing. One of the creatures even appeared on the Star Wars Celebration stage, he, or she, or it, is a brand new droid named D/O. Check him out.

While we didn't get a lot of details about the droid, who looks like a cone has been welded to the side of a tuna fish can. His "head" such as it is, moves independently of the wheel below him that gives him mobility. J.J. Abrams did speak about the character a bit, saying that he's a friend of BB-8. According to Abrams...

In this movie BB-8 has a new friend... This is D/O. This is yet another incredible collaboration and creation of Neal Scanlan and the creature robotics team on the movie.

We see the new droid in one shot of the first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. He's standing alongside BB-8 and the pair both look to be reacting in the same way to something we can't see. Clearly, these two really are friends. We also see the little guy alongside BB-8 in the group shot at the end of the trailer, so wherever this story is going, this droid is going along for the ride.

We do know that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will take place after some significant amount of time has passed following the events of The Last Jedi. In that movie it appeared that the entire Resistance fit inside the Millennium Falcon, but one assumes the Resistance has been able to build up its ranks in the intervening period. They've picked up some additional allies, and some of them probably brought droids with them. It's also possible one of our heroes has taken possession of the little guy in the time that has passed.

Interestingly, J.J. Abrams revealed that the way that D/O was introduced to us at Star Wars Celebration was not the way that the droid actually appeared on the set. While he was clearly being remote controlled from off stage here, the droid was created by puppeteers when filming was being done.

I will say that when we did the film we never had D/O exist quite this way. There was a rig and puppeteers and like with Celebration last time, there were different designs we went through working on. Like in Celebration last time [for me] in Episode VII when BB-8 rolled out we never had a BB-8 to be able to roll out [on set]. It's amazing what Celebration will do!

However, the new droid wasn't the only new Star Wars creature that we met today. Another new creature is much larger than the tiny droid. His name is Klaud, and he's apparently a brand new member of the Resistance. Check him out below.

We see Klaud standing alongside Snap Wexley, played by Greg Grunberg. Snap was a pilot alongside Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens but he was nowhere to be found in The Last Jedi. As a longtime friend of J.J. Abrams its little surprise he's back for the new film.

The fact that J.J. Abrams made a point to show us Klaud and tell us his name, the fact that he has a name at all, likely means we'll see a bit more of this guy than we might some of the other aliens, but seriously, what do we know? We didn't see any new creatures or characters in the teaser except for the new droid, so everything is still a question regarding all of these designs.

Beyond these couple of new creatures that were given names we didn't get any information about any other new aliens or droids that we'll be meeting in the film. However, the Star Wars Celebration crowd was given a look at a few more creatures out of context, and we have a look at them as well.

Whether any of these are important creatures or simply background aliens designed to make the world of the galaxy, far, far away, feel more real, we don't really know. Of course, that doesn't really matter when it comes to creating them. J.J. Abrams talked about the hard work that went into both creating the design of the creatures, as well the hard work that the actors put forth in bringing them to life.

The vast majority of these aliens are not created via CGI but are actually makeup and practical effects, which means real people were needed to create these alien landscapes. That meant that in some cases hundreds of people were made to look like aliens, sometimes under less than perfect conditions. According to Abrams...

We had hundreds of people in unbelievable costumes and designs. Creatures that Neal Scanlan and his team designed. So, to be there with so many people in the heat [of the desert] and having to take food breaks, bathroom breaks. It was a whole thing. But we got through it and actually finished a day ahead of schedule.

One can imagine how difficult it was for all of the people in the image below to get into their make up and film a scene for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The vast majority of these characters are almost certainly just ancillary background aliens. The only new cast member on the stage for the Episode IX panel was Naomi Ackie, who we know isn't playing an alien. Still, that just goes to show how much work went into creating all these characters, many of whom might only be on screen for a few moments. There were probably entire creatures who ended up on the cutting room floor, possibly never to be seen again. Since editing on the new film is not complete, it's even possible these creatures we were shown won't actually be in the movie.

Regardless of how much we actually see all these new creatures in Star Wars; The Rise of Skywalker, they all look absolutely amazing. Even if you somehow weren't hyped up for the final chapter of the Skywalker saga before, you almost have to be now.

While we've probably heard all the really important stuff about Episode IX that we're going to get for a while, a lot more Star Wars news will be coming over the next couple of days. CinemaBlend is in Chicago, so keep checking back for all the news this weekend.

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How Much Avengers: Endgame Made Opening Night

How Much Avengers: Endgame Made Opening Night

Avengers: Endgame pre-sales have been insane ever since they went on sale, so people should already be fully aware that the new Marvel movie was going to have a big opening night. But being aware that a movie is big and understanding exactly how big a movie is are two different things, which is why we’re about to talk opening night numbers here.

Obviously, Avengers: Endgame absolutely dominated on opening night, with early reports indicating the flick could bring in at least $43 million. At the time, thanks to all the myriad showings that happened beginning at 6 p.m. yesterday evening, Deadline reported that the number could ultimately be as high as $57 million. Yes, for one evening of showings.

In fact, however, once the final numbers dropped, the movie made even more money domestically. Variety is reporting Avengers: Endgame opened to a record-breaking $60 million dollars. That would be a lot for an entire opening weekend, but it's an excessive number for just one night.

The previous number to beat for opening night was for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which made $57 million domestically in its initial entrance into theaters. Over the weekend, Avengers: Endgame will play in over 4,600 theaters, so the numbers should only grow moving forward.

We’ve been reporting for weeks that Avengers: Endgame would open to record numbers. Certain showtimes have been sold out in various parts of the country for days and days. The AMC on 42nd Street had most showtimes until the middle of the night sold out, with only screenings at 1:45, 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. available, for example.

If Avengers: Endgame actually hit $57 million last night, the final Phase Three movie could be well on the way to making the $800 million that was estimated as a possibility by early box office trackers in terms of worldwide numbers. And I’m not talking $800 million in total; instead, I’m saying this movie could make $800 million during opening weekend. How ‘bout them apples?

To compare, when Avengers: Infinity War opened around this time last year, that movie also had an incredible opening weekend, pulling in $640.4 million during its first few days in theaters worldwide. For that movie, the flick opened a little later in China, which is why some are anticipating Endgame could blow past the $800 million mark.

This time around Avengers: Endgame is already breaking records in China in terms of pre-ordered ticket sales, so theoretically the numbers could be even higher there.

Domestically, Avengers: Endgame is also expected to be a winner and early numbers have U.S. and Canada totals at just under $300 million. With $57 million to kickstart that, the movie should be in good shape, as Friday nights and Saturdays are even bigger moviegoing days. (Although presumably a lot of people went Thursday night so as not to get spoiled.)

Ultimately, so far this year the box office has been a little sluggish compared to previous years. While titles like Glass, Us, and Captain Marvel have done well, there hasn’t been a Black Panther-type of movie to really rally insane numbers into theaters prior to this weekend. Avengers: Endgame could ramp things up considerably. I’m sure theaters are hoping it does.

Are we on our way to a record box office year? Only time will tell. But we will definitely keep you updated in regards to Endgame. In addition, to see when the likes of Godzilla: King of the Monsters and The Lion King will have their own chance to shine in the sun, take a look at our full movies schedule.

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Tom Holland Warns Of A Spider-Man: Far From Home Scene That Will Be An Emotional Punch In The Face

Tom Holland Warns Of A Spider-Man: Far From Home Scene That Will Be An Emotional Punch In The Face

Jon Watts’ initial Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, was more emotional than you might remember. Yes, it had its lighter moments, and inspirations from the high school classics delivered by John Hughes. But there were tough, emotional beats in that movie as well, which Watts and leading man Tom Holland weren’t afraid to embrace and wallow in. And it sounds like they are back at it in the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home.

CinemaBlend recently traveled to the London set of Spider-Man: Far From Home and watched the creative team work. During a sit-down conversation with Tom Holland, we brought up complicated scenes from Homecoming that really stuck with us, from the scene of Peter Parker pushing himself out of the rubble – a direct callback to The Amazing Spider-Man No. 33, “The Final Chapter” – to his verbal standoff with Michael Keaton in the car outside of Liz’s dance.

We asked if Spider-Man: Far From Home includes tense, emotional moments similar to these, and Holland immediately opened up, stating:

There’s a scene in this film where audiences will feel like they were punched in the face. Even filming it, I remember walking out and then watching it again on the monitors and asking Jon, ‘Are you sure that's okay?’ And he's like, ‘No, it's not. People are going to hate this scene.’ But it really… God, it’s pretty crazy. And it's very similar in the way that it's very tense, and it sort of rips the rug from underneath your feet. It's pretty awesome.

Now that is a tease. Tom Holland couldn’t come close to giving us any more context about the scene he is discussing. At the same time, Holland was pretty guarded during the whole visit, because when he sat down to discuss Spider-Man: Far From Home, none of us had yet to see Avengers: Endgame. That movie didn’t even have a title yet. And as far as we knew, Spider-Man was dust.

Naturally, now, we know that he’s back… and if you saw Avengers: Endgame, you know how he comes back! The latest trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home sort of shows how he is going to pick up the pieces following Endgame, so why don’t we let that teaser tell the story:

In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) needs to take a break from that superhero lifestyle, so he agrees to accompany his classmates on a European jaunt. Only, once there, he gets caught up in a series of global attacks that are being investigated by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a new ally, Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal).

As much as Spidey wants to sit this one out, Fury and Beck need his assistance to take down Elementals – creatures that are from another dimension, or multiverse, and could cause real problems for the world at large.

Spider-Man: Far From Home swings into theaters on July 2. Stay here on CinemaBlend for a lot more coverage from our visit to the movie’s set.

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Mark Ruffalo's Marvel Behind-The-Scenes Tribute Video Will Make You Feel All The Feels

Mark Ruffalo's Marvel Behind-The-Scenes Tribute Video Will Make You Feel All The Feels

Ending a run of films as big as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga is bound to be emotional for both fans and cast members alike. This is especially true when it comes to fans making tribute videos in honor of films like Avengers: Endgame that are so touching, people like Mark Ruffalo just have to share. That’s exactly what the big guy has done with the video below, complete with a beautifully emotional message, take a look:

Comprised of outtakes from what looks like almost every film from Marvel Studio’s first cinematic arc, there’s plenty of goofing around from cast members included in this tribute reel, set to ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky.” Among some of the highlights are the many funny faces that Chris Evans has been known to make, even in costume as Captain America. You'll also see a lot of smiles from cast members ranging from Chadwick Boseman and Scarlet Johansson, to of course, a lot of Robert Downey Jr. smiling mischievously and making faces that might not make it into a Disney-produced picture!

So yeah, it’s a video that’ll make Avengers: Endgame fans totally emotional, as it acts as kind of a family scrapbook of moments that led to the huge finale that fans had been waiting for across the span of 11 years and 22 movies. With the finale also marking the end of Joe and Anthony Russo’s current tenure at Marvel Studios, the reaction seems to indicate that emotional isn’t even the word for how folks may be feeling at the moment.

With Avengers: Endgame poised to surpass Avatar at any moment in the near future, this Twitter post is a good reminder of just how and why the Marvel Cinematic Universe has hit with the folks that helped make it possible. Even Mark Ruffalo knows that as he shares this video, honoring both his co-stars and the moviegoers who made their collective job an honor and a privilege.

The future of the MCU, and just what its next saga will entail, is still up in the air to a certain point. We’ll probably receive a lot of clues with Spider-Man: Far From Home acting as the official end of Phase Three, and the first step into a post-Infinity Saga world. Even then, the announcement of whatever Phase Four and beyond hold will be the ultimate clue as to where fans will be headed next.

So long as Marvel Studios and the cast of those upcoming movies continue to uphold the believe that fan and actor alike are what make this enterprise truly special, the success is likely to follow in both the undertaking and release of such projects.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now; with the final flick in the phase, Spider-Man: Far From Home, webbing up the box office on July 2nd. However, if you’re ready to look for another movie to entertain yourself with, you can take a look at the 2019 release schedule to see what other options are open.

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Lily Collins Believes The Ghosts Of Ted Bundy's Victims Visited Her During Filming

Lily Collins Believes The Ghosts Of Ted Bundy's Victims Visited Her During Filming

If you have been browsing Netflix this weekend, you might have come across Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile about serial killer Ted Bundy. Zac Efron plays Bundy while Lily Collins plays his longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer. Stepping into any kind of dramatic role like this must take a toll on the actor, but Collins got an extra boost to play the role after she was visited by what she believes to be the ghosts of the women Ted Bundy killed.

In the film (and also real life), Ted Bundy killed 30 women and girls across seven states in the 1970s. During the majority of this time, the charismatic Bundy had a girlfriend named Elizabeth Kloepfer. Kloepfer couldn't believe that Bundy was guilty and claimed that he was innocent. It's a strong story and an especially powerful one considering the many victims at the hand of Bundy.

There are plenty of instances where survivors or family members of victims give their blessings to have a movie made, but it's really rare for ghosts to give the okay. Lily Collins claims that the spirits of the women Ted Bundy killed visited her late at night, and it began when she started to wake up at 3 a.m. every night.

I would go downstairs and have a cup of tea, trying to figure out why I had woken up again. I started being woken up by flashes of images, like the aftermath of a struggle. ... I discovered that 3 a.m. is the time when the veil between the realms is the thinnest and one can be visited.

Lily Collins goes on to tell the Guardian that she believes she was being contacted by spirits. However, it wasn't a scary experience like out of a Conjuring movie. Collins states that she wasn't frightened at all and that the women were there to show their support.

I didn’t feel scared – I felt supported. I felt like people were saying: 'We’re here listening. We’re here to support. Thank you for telling the story.'

It's not my place to say whether ghosts are real or not, but Lily Collins sure believes it, and it nevertheless sounds like quite the experience for her.

Including Extremely Wicked, 8 films have been made about Ted Bundy. He's been called one of the most ruthless and cold people to ever exist. Netflix's film has gotten mostly mixed reviews, but most critics have called Zac Efron's performance as Bundy a highlight of the movie.

You can check out Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile whenever you like because the film is available for your viewing pleasure right now on Netflix. For all the other films the streaming service has in store for the wonderful month of May, here's our Netflix movie release guide.

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That Time C-3PO Stole Oscar Isaac’s Thunder Wrapping Star Wars Episode IX

That Time C-3PO Stole Oscar Isaac’s Thunder Wrapping Star Wars Episode IX

The public still has to wait another nine months for Star Wars: Episode IX, but for the movie’s cast and crew, the journey is over. Episode IX’s principal photography concluded last month, and for most, if not all of these actors, this could their final on-screen appearance in the Star Wars universe given that this movie is the final installment of the Skywalker saga. Unfortunately for Oscar Isaac, his last day of shooting Episode IX was the same as Anthony Daniels’, meaning that Poe Dameron’s thunder was stolen by C-3PO. Isaac recalled:

It was such a milestone. What was particularly special was the day that I finished on these three massive movies that for me have been such a huge part of my life, right after it was like, ‘Okay, Oscar’s done.’ And then I said a few words. ‘And it’s also Anthony Daniels’ last day on set!’ Way to take the thunder.

Look, Oscar Isaac is one of the main actors in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and there’s no question that Poe Dameron has gained a lot of fans over the last several years. But looking at the entire Star Wars franchise, Anthony Daniels is definitely the heavier hitter. He’s been playing C-3PO since the beginning, with the golden protocol droid being present for many of the galaxy far, far away’s biggest events over the last century. So while Isaac may be the more famous actor, when looking through a Star Wars lens, I can’t say I’m surprised that Daniels got more attention on that last day of filming for the two performers.

Nevertheless, Oscar Isaac didn’t have any hard feelings about this, acknowledging during his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that Anthony Daniels has been part of the franchise since A New Hope and that George Lucas originally envisioned the Star Wars saga as a story about C-3PO and his partner, R2-D2. Isaac continued:

[Daniels] was super emotional about it and hanging up the golden cowl. And I think, really, and I mean this, this time he kept saying this was the most fun he’s had ’cause he had so many fun things to do and we got to work a lot together. It was just amazing to see that piece of history close.

The Star Wars franchise is keeping its big screen run going in the coming years with Rian Johnson’s trilogy and the trilogy from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, but Episode IX truly marks the end of an era. In Anthony Daniels’ case, it sounds like this could be the final time he ever plays C-3PO, although he probably felt the same way when the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies concluded too, so there’s always the possibility he might don the gold suit again.

For now, Daniels is the only actor to appear in every Star Wars movie, because along with playing C-3PO in most of them, he also appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story as a freed slave on Kessel. Daniels has also voiced C-3PO on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and even in projects set outside of this strange galaxy like The LEGO Movie and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20, so stay tuned for CinemaBlend for more coverage. In the meantime, look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out later this year.

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Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Reviews Are In, Here’s What The Critics Are Saying

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Reviews Are In, Here’s What The Critics Are Saying

It’s been five years since Godzilla kicked off the MonsterVerse, and while we rewound the clock back in 2017 to delve into King Kong’s origins in Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla is finally back in action this weekend for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. This time around, the giant reptile is colliding with Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah, and these Titans vying for supremacy will leave humanity’s existence hanging in the balance.

The public is still a few days away from getting to see Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but reviews from critics are now being published, and it’s looking like this sequel improves upon its predecessor in some ways, but is still a mixed affair.

CinemaBlend's own Mack Rawden gave the film 3 stars on our official review, citing major problem with the film's pacing. While praising the film's visuals, Rawden revealed:

In fact, the pacing is so strange that after about the twenty minute-mark, I had no concept whatsoever of how far into the film’s runtime we were. I’m usually pretty good at timing out a movie in my head and estimating what percentage we’ve completed. Not here. Not even close. There’s no slow burn or escalating momentum. The whole movie is in the deep end. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is just a relentless haze of destruction throughout, a creative decision that obviously brings with it an enormous amount of pros and cons.

On the more positive end of the spectrum, William Bibbiani from Bloody Disgusting gave Godzilla: King of the Monsters a 4 out of 5 score, declaring that it felt like Warner Bros heard the collective complaints about how the 2014 Godzilla movie didn’t have enough monster action and “unloaded three sequels worth of monster fights into one follow-up.” That being said, King of the Monsters is filled with a lot of one-note characters, and if you treat blockbusters “like any other movie,” you’ll be disappointed with how this blockbuster fails to properly utilize its ensemble.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a big, kinda silly, but otherwise exciting blockbuster. It’s gorgeous, it’s epic in the extreme, and it features some of the most impressive monster fights you’ve ever seen. Maybe someday Americans will make a Godzilla movie that isn’t just ‘badass,’ but which also works on another level and resonates in a meaningful way.

Conversely, The AV Club’s Katie Rife wasn’t pleased with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, stamping it with a C- grade. Rife acknowledged that the look of the movie’s Titans and their fights are cool, but the rest of the King of the Monsters suffers as a result, with the human characters failing to impress. The family drama that occurs between the members of the Russell clan (Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison, Vera Farmiga’s Emma and Kyle Chandler’s Mark) is described as the “least successful flavor.”

Of course the monsters should be the stars of a Godzilla movie. But until blockbuster filmmaking goes entirely non-narrative, some attention should be paid to the rest of it as well.

James Whitbrook from io9 took a middle ground stance in his review of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, calling it “big, dumb and beautiful.” The sequel functions excellently as a love letter to the history of these cinematic beasts and the set pieces are “gorgeously rendered,” but the storyline is weak, there’s an inconsistent tone and there’s no proper exploration of the moral debate it sets up early on.

If you’re fine with some incredibly stupid people playing second fiddle to glorious kaiju moments, King of the Monsters will provide one of the best popcorn blockbusters of the summer. But if you wanted a Godzilla movie that had something, anything to say about its destruction? Then you’ll be definitely looking for something meatier than Ghidorah flank to chew on.

Empire’s Ben Travis did not enjoy Godzilla: King of the Monsters, giving it just one star out of five. In Travis’ opinion, the “staggeringly poor script” has the characters doing nothing but standing around or explaining the plot and their personal motivations with cliched dialogue. Making matters worse, the action sequences are also disappointing, with the final clash between Godzilla and King Ghidroah being described as “an overload of repetitive, joyless destruction that mistakes volume and demolition for actual excitement.”

Globe-trotting but not adventurous, action-packed but not remotely exciting, utterly overstuffed and completely paper-thin. Nuke it from orbit.

Finally, Scott Collura from IGN awarded Godzilla: King of the Monsters a 7.8 out of 10, observing, like many other critics, that the human characters get the short end of the proverbial stick, but the explosive monster action helps even the scales. Although the script is convoluted, King of the Monsters ultimately succeeds in delivering a lot of excellent battles and nerdy Easter eggs.

Godzilla returns in King of the Monsters, focusing on monster spectacle first and foremost. Which is as it should be!

These are just some of the Godzilla: King of the Monsters reviews that are now available, so feel free to look for others if you’d like more viewpoints. It is interesting, though, how one of the main complaints of the 2014 Godzilla movie was that there wasn’t enough monster action and too much focus on the humans, and now for King of the Monsters, the criticisms have been reversed. Talk about difficulty finding middle ground.

You can judge Godzilla: King of the Monsters for yourself when it arrives in theaters this Friday, May 31. Don’t forget to look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what movies are coming out later in the year.

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Netflix's Unicorn Store Trailer Gives Brie Larson And Samuel L. Jackson A New Mission

Netflix's Unicorn Store Trailer Gives Brie Larson And Samuel L. Jackson A New Mission

Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson clearly had a great time making Captain Marvel, and they are back for a very different movie in Unicorn Store. Larson not only stars in the comedy, she also directed and produced it. In the Netflix film -- which starts streaming April 5, the same day Shazam! hits theaters -- a woman named Kit receives a mysterious invitation that would fulfill her childhood dreams. Samuel L. Jackson's character, The Salesman, invites her to The Store, a place that sells "what you need." To Kit, that's a unicorn. Check out the trailer:

Unicorn Store kind of has a Willy Wonka/Stephen King's Needful Things vibe about it, at least from the trailer. It also stars Joan Cusack, Bradley Whitford, Karan Soni, Mamoudou Athie, Mary Holland, and Hamish Linklater.

Unicorn Store marks Brie Larson's feature film directorial debut. The comedy actually filmed in late 2016, before Captain Marvel, and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017. It's probably getting a prominent release now on Netflix because of that soon-to-be-billion-dollar movie starring both Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson.

Brie Larson shot to worldwide fame as Captain Marvel, who is about to lead the MCU, but she got the role hot off her Best Actress Oscar for Room. And some of us have loved her since she played Toni Collette's troubled teen in the Showtime series United States of Tara. This Unicorn Store role as whimsical, immature, lost soul Kit seems like a great contrast to Larson's more serious strength as Carol Danvers in the hit Marvel movie. It'll be refreshing to see her in a comedy in the middle of her back-to-back MCU movies.

Of course, fans are already having fun cracking jokes about how this movie looks like Captain Marvel on drugs, and Thanos must've really messed with reality to put Carol Danvers and Nick Fury in this unicorn movie. There are also plenty of Goose jokes, wondering where the Flerken cat might be in this movie. 'Cause it's not a true teammup without the real hero.

Unicorn Store, written by Samantha McIntyre, currently has a 68% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but that's just from 19 reviews. Fans can judge the movie for themselves when it streams April 5. Here are more movies headed to Netflix in April, and don't forget all of the incredible movies headed to theaters in April, like another one starring Brie Larson called Avengers: Endgame.

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What Marvel Should Do With The Fantastic Four And The X-Men, According To Matthew Vaughn

What Marvel Should Do With The Fantastic Four And The X-Men, According To Matthew Vaughn

Matthew Vaughn’s filmmaking resume is packed with comic book adaptations. He kicked off this part of his career with 2010’s Kick-Ass, and in recent years he’s been the driving force behind the Kingsman film series. But Vaughn also has some experience working in the Marvel realm by directing X-Men: First Class and producing the Fantastic Four reboot.

Thanks to Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox, both properties now reside under Marvel Studios and are expected to be incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point. With that in mind, Matthew Vaughn suggested that Marvel bring the Fantastic Four into the MCU as soon as possible, but not to rush featuring the X-Men in this franchise. He explained:

As the man that produced the last terrible Fantastic Four - and I will say that because I said it from day one, but no one listened to me -- I think Fan Four is, for me, it’s the live action version of The Incredibles. It’s probably the most, I think, commercially viable Marvel Comic. Kevin Feige will get ahold of that and probably make a masterpiece. And the X-Men world, I imagine that might get put on ice for a little bit. I think it needs a little bit of breathing room. They made a hell of a lot since First Class, if you think about it. Fan Four would be the thing I'd like to see them do next. Disney and Fan Four and Marvel is a really potent combination.

Matthew Vaughn has a point. Critically speaking, the Fantastic Four movies have never been hits, with the 2015 reboot being almost universally panned and bombing at the box office, which resulted in the sequel being scrapped. The X-Men franchise, on the other hand, has been going steadily since 2000, with next month’s Dark Phoenix wrapping up the main film series and The New Mutants finally arriving next year.

The Fantastic Four haven’t had the opportunity to shine like the X-Men have, so if one must be prioritized over the other, Matthew Vaughn's call of introducing the Fantastic Four first seems reasonable. It’s only a matter of time before the X-Men are brought in too, but considering that the Fox era of X-Men movies is will soon finish, it’s not a bad idea to let that property sit on the proverbial shelf for a bit before reintroducing these characters to the public.

During his appearance on the ReelBlend podcast, Matthew Vaughn also talked about how well making a period piece Fantastic Four movie would work, specifically one set in the 1960s, as Marvel’s First Family and many of the comic book company’s most famous characters were introduced that decade. In Vaughn’s words:

That’s what I did with the X-Men, though. These ideas were born -- sort of the Fan Four and the nuclear family and the dysfunctional family and science -- it's an easier time. I mean, superhero films in the modern world … everything in the modern world, it's harder and harder to do. Because you know, the technology, it's all out there. You know, Iron Man’s suit doesn't seem that far away anymore. It’s sort of odd. The Iron Man suit when Iron Man came out [in the comics] was awesome. That was probably late sixties, early seventies. Iron Man, I don't know when that came out. It's easier because everything was sort of black and white, everything was more bad versus good. You knew what was what was what by then because there were boundaries and clearer horizons. So yeah, I love a period piece. I've just done another period movie [in the Kingsmen prequel]. It's really good fun.

The MCU has dabbled in period pieces with the 1940s-set Captain America: The First Avenger and the 1990s-set Captain Marvel, plus various flashbacks, so it’s not like a 1960-set Fantastic Four movie would be dismissed right out the gate. That being said, obviously whatever creative team is working on such a story would need to find a way to bring Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing and The Human Torch to the present day so they can interact with all the other MCU heroes.

You can listen to Matthew Vaughn’s full ReelBlend appearance below:

As things stand now, there are no official plans for an MCU-set Fantastic Four or X-Men movie, but rest assured, when a concrete announcement about either of the two is made, we here at CinemaBlend will let you know about it. For now, there are plenty of other upcoming MCU movies to look forward to, from Black Widow and The Eternals to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Black Panther 2, as well as the various Disney+ series in development.

Matthew Vaughn’s next directorial effort, Kingsman: The Great Game, will be released on February 14, 2020, but he also produced the Elton John-focused musical Rocketman, which hits theaters tomorrow, May 31.

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Avengers 4: What We Know So Far About Endgame

Avengers 4: What We Know So Far About Endgame

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going strong since it launched in 2008 with Iron Man, and while movies like Spider-Man: Far From Home, Black Widow, Black Panther 2, and more will keep the franchise going into its Phase Four and beyond, the end of an era is approaching. Avengers: Endgame will conclude not just Phase Three of the MCU, but also wrap up numerous plot threads. While Avengers: Infinity War was long advertised as the biggest Marvel movie yet, rest assured that its follow-up will be just as important, if not more so.

Because Avengers: Endgame is such a big deal for the franchise, Marvel Studios is, understandably, keeping details for Earth's Mightiest Heroes' fourth epic tale close to the chest. However, there is a fair amount of information that's already available to the public, including a teaser trailer, so read on to find out what we know about the movie so far. Be warned, though. This guide is filled with SPOILERS both mild and extreme about Infinity War and Ant-Man and The Wasp, so proceed with caution if you haven't seen either film yet!

What Have We Seen From Avengers: Endgame?

Given that Avengers: Endgame is going to be one of the biggest movies of all time, the marketing team behind the movie hadn't exactly been super active - though the good news is that they have now released several trailers and teasers to get us even more pumped for the film. The first preview from the blockbuster dropped online and in theaters in December 2018, and fans have been rewatching it over and over trying to squeeze out as many details as they can (something which will probably be evident as you continue reading this guide).

While another trailer dropped during the Super Bowl, it was more of an extended TV spot than a full preview. But, of all the recent teases we've gotten of footage from the film, though, the biggest reveal may have been in the form of a series of posters which seem to confirm a lot of living and dead characters, including ones we didn't get to witness from Avengers: Infinity War.

What Is The Avengers: Endgame Release Date?

Unlike the previous three year gaps between Avengers movies, Avengers: Engame will be released only a year after Avengers: Infinity War, on April 26, 2019. Its principal photography began in late summer of 2017, only a few weeks after Infinity War wrapped shooting. Avengers: Endgame was previously known as Avengers: Infinity War Part II, but, in 2016, that title was removed to make it clear that the film will have its own specific story to tell rather than just being the second half of its predecessor. Of course, the movies will obviously be linked because of the way in which it will deal with the fallout from Thanos' snap.

What Is The Avengers: Endgame Rating?

Movies aren't given ratings from the MPAA until the film is basically completed and ready for release, but like the rest of the MCU movies you can guarantee Avengers: Endgame will head into theaters with a PG-13 rating so that it can be accessible to both adults and younger moviegoers (but not too young). The reasons for being PG-13 will likely include having "extended/intense sequences of violence, action and destruction," along with some "suggestive comments" and language. These are nothing out of the ordinary, although keep in mind that Avengers: Endgame will probably ratchet up the intensity to an 11, so remember that if you're bringing kids along to the theater.

The Avengers: Endgame Writers And Directors

Avengers: Endgame is keeping the same creative team that guided Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War , and Avengers: Infinity War to success. Just like with those movies, Joe and Anthony Russo will be sitting in the directors chairs, while Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (who also wrote Captain America: The First Avenger) have penned the script. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and by keeping these creative teams intact fans can look forward to a degree of familiarity.

Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. helped kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man in 2008, and he's maintained a consistent presence in the franchise since then. However, with Avengers: Endgame ending both the MCU's Phase Three and wrapping up what the franchise has been building to for a decade, it's certainly possible that this will be the last time we see Downey's Stark. After 10 appearances, one wouldn't blame the man for wanting to retire from his Iron Man life and fully focus on other projects. For Tony Stark, this could mean anything, from dying in battle to simply leaving his superhero activities behind. All we know for certain is that at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, he was still stranded on Titan, one of the only two superheroes remaining on the dead planet after Thanos' snap. From the trailer it looks like he was able to leave Titan on a ship so that he could try and to get back to Earth, but he'll need a miracle to survive the actual journey (something tells us that he'll be getting one, though).

Captain America

Like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans' future after Avengers: Endgame remains uncertain. Evans was originally contracted for six Captain America appearances, but he extended it for one movie so he could participate in Avengers: Endgame. That being said, there has been some implication that he will be departing the MCU after the blockbuster - though that has yet to be confirmed. In any case, rather than suiting up as Nomad as previously rumored, Steve Rogers will be reverting back to his clean shaven look and a more traditional Captain America costume for Avengers: Endgame, where he'll reportedly have a bigger role as he tries to save the lives of half the entities in existence, and reunites with his trusty shield. Beyond that, we don't know what's in store for him, though we hope that the movie will also find some way to resolve the conflict that he's had with Tony Stark since the end of Captain America: Civil War.

Thor And Loki

The ultimate fate of Asgard and most of its inhabitants was sealed once Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War were released, but one thing we do know is that Thor will live on to fight in Avengers: Endgame. The God of Thunder has lost a whole hell of a lot in recent features, including his brother, Loki; his best friend, Heimdall; his father, Odin; most of his people; his homeworld; and even his eye - but that's not going to stop him from continuing to fight the good fight. To no one's surprise, Thor, played once again by Chris Hemsworth, will be continuing his heroic duties and fighting alongside his fellow Avengers in the fourth chapter of the team-up series, and we can bet that the weight of all his pain will be heavy for the God of Thunder (not to mention insane regret for not going for Thanos' head with Stormbreaker). And while Loki has always been a wild card, and there has been speculation that he could still be alive, it would seem that this time his death is permanent.

Hulk

Thanks to Thor: Ragnarok, we know that Hulk had been spending the last few years killing it in the gladiator ring on Sakaar, but because of events during the opening of Avengers Infinity War he found himself back on Earth to help try and pummel Thanos and his minions. It ended up being Bruce Banner in one of Tony's Hulkbuster suits who ended up doing the fighting, however, as the green monster refused to come back out after his beatdown from the Mad Titan. Mark Ruffalo has said that Hulk/Bruce Banner's has a specific arc that's playing out across Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and the idea is that together the story will feel like a standalone movie for the character (who hasn't been gifted with a solo movie since The Incredible Hulk in 2008). Avengers: Endgame will also be the culmination of the "huge change" Hulk will go through starting in Thor: Ragnarok, meaning that we will likely see a lot more cooperation between Bruce and Hulk by the time the film is over. Could we finally see Banner and Hulk melding into one super-strong, highly intelligent individual a.k.a. Professor Hulk?

Thanos

Ever since he smirked at the camera in The Avengers mid-credits scene, Thanos has been lurking in the background of the MCU, but in Avengers: Infinity War he finally stepped into the light when he and his Black Order minions secured all six Infinity Stones so that he could obliterate half of all life in the universe. The Mad Titan's involvement in Avengers: Endgame, on the other hand, is shrouded in mystery. Josh Brolin had said that Thanos might not get all the Infinity Stones by the time Infinity War ended, and we now know that to have been a careful misdirect. We'll go into the 2019 blockbuster with the character being a god-like entity, but beyond that we have no idea what the film has in store for him.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

With the exception of Yondu, who gave his life to save Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, all the Guardians of the Galaxy returned for Avengers: Infinity War. Unfortunately, due to the events of that film, we'll go into Avengers: Endgame with Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon and Karen Gillan's Nebula as the only members to survive Thanos' snap. That makes it a particularly big challenge to predict what they'll be up to when we get to see the characters next (though it was originally thought that Nebula just abandoned Tony Stark on Titan and didn't take a position in whether or not he should live or die, the new teaser that was released seems to suggest that she will end up helping him). It's worth noting that if Thanos does end up dying in Avengers: Endgame, we shouldn't count out either a somehow reconstituted Drax the Destroyer or Nebula being responsible for his demise, as they're both heroes with serious vendettas against the intergalactic warlord. As we know, though, they may have to stand in a long line to get their shot at that now.

Doctor Strange

We watched Doctor Strange begin his superhero journey in late 2016, and by the time of Avengers: Infinity War his magical abilities were most beneficial to his new allies... until they weren't, anyway. While we can't predict what we'll see from the neurosurgeon-turned-sorcerer in Avengers: Endgame without knowing how the good doctor will come back into the fold, keep in mind that even with his considerable talent, Doctor Strange isn't invincible, so he may still be going through a learning curve when we see him again in the 2019 film. Still, let's not forget that before he was dusted Doctor Strange used the Time Stone to look at the all the alternate futures concerning the coming conflict with Thanos, and in only one of them were he and his allies victorious. Strange knew ahead of time how things needed to proceed, and Avengers: Endgame will see those pieces finally fall into place.

Spider-Man

From traveling to Germany to fight other superheroes, to defeating a gang of thieves armed with enhanced weaponry, Peter Parker's life as Spider-Man hasn't been lacking in excitement so far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In Avengers: Infinity War he put his arachnid-themed abilities to good use on a cosmic scale, and in an even more teched-out suit Tony Stark designed for him. None of his powers or technology were able to help him at the end of the movie, though, young Peter's demise at the end of that film being one of the most heart-breaking moments ever in a superhero movie. It's worth noting that Spider-Man: Far From Home will begin only minutes after Avengers: Endgame, so moviegoers will reunite with Peter immediately in the aftermath of this event and might get to watch him continue to deal with the effects of whatever brought him back to the known world.

Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow has been a key figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the franchise's third movie, and while we won't be seeing her first solo film until we're getting deeper into Phase 4, we know that she will be back and playing a crucial role in Avengers: Endgame. She is one of the few Avengers who successfully survived Thanos' snap, and going by the first trailer for the movie it looks like the upcoming blockbuster will catch up with her as she is working with Captain America to find a fix to the whole situation. Plus, she'll be reuniting with an old colleague, who we will be discussing more in a minute...

Black Panther

At the end of Black Panther, King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) decided to open Wakanda up to the world, but he probably didn't expect that months later the African nation would have to repel an alien invasion. When Steve Rogers and his allies showed up asking for help protecting Vision and retrieving the Mind Stone, however, the royal superhero let them in and provided a battlefield against the deadly Outriders. Earth's Mightiest Heroes technically emerged victorious in that fight, but soon after T'Challa turned to dust thanks to Thanos' snap, and Okoye watched on in horror. Since Black Panther 2 is happening, we know T'Challa will eventually return. The question, like with all the other disappeared heroes, is how.

Hawkeye

Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton sat out Avengers: Infinity War due to being under house arrest, but rest assured that when Avengers: Endgame rolls around he'll be back in action. It's been confirmed that when we reunite with him in Avengers: Endgame he'll be known as Ronin, the identity he briefly donned in the comics following his resurrection. Why the identity change? Supposedly the events of Infinity War will leave Clint in a "very dark place," with the going theory that most, if not all, of his family was wiped out by the Thanos Snap. That would certainly put most people in the darkest of places. Exactly what his contribution to the fight against the Mad Titan will be isn't entirely clear right now, but he should be a useful tool if only just because he is chock full of motivation.

Ant-Man And The Wasp

While Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) were initially expected to appear in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, we actually didn't get to see them until their recent solo sequel Ant-Man and The Wasp. If you've seen that movie, you know that things did not end particularly well for Scott Lang and his allies following The Decimation. Thanos' snap went down as Scott was in the Quantum Realm, and it erased all traces of not only Hope van Dyne, but also Michael Douglas' Hank Pym and Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet van Dyne. Somehow he'll make it back to Earth in Avengers: Endgame, as seen in the trailer, and and there are already theories on how the Quantum Realm plays into this gargantuan story, but otherwise, we're in the dark on how Scott fits into the proceedings.

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel's involvement in the MCU has been one of the franchise's biggest question marks, as Brie Larson's debut as Carol Danvers arrived just a couple months before Avengers: Endgame. Her whereabouts in the present day haven't been revealed yet, but Carol has been officially confirmed to appear in the Phase Three capstone project, presumably having her first opportunity to interact with the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. And, some are so excited by her appearance in Endgame, that they're even theorizing that she was digitally removed from some scenes of the new teaser to keep her time in the film a secret. Her existence was teased in Avengers: Infinity War's final moment when Nick Fury activated a suped-up pager right before disappearing that displayed Carol's insignia. Whatever the reason for her absence, her planet-moving powers will be most welcome when she finally returns to Earth.

Other Superheroes

Along with the previously mentioned superheroes, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Falcon and Winter Soldier are all confirmed to return for Avengers: Endgame (yes, even the ones who were dusted by the Thanos Snap at the end of Infinity War). Then there's The Vision, who was especially important to Avengers: Infinity War given that he was powered by the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones that Thanos craved. And, like many of those other heroes, we have no indication what will happen to Vision in Avengers: Endgame, or how the destroyed android might be brought back to life.

The Supporting Characters

Avengers: Endgame already has a stacked lineup of superheroes, but there will still be a number of other characters filling out the cast. In the supporting character category, only Iron Man mainstays Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, as well as Doctor Strange's most trusted magical ally Wong, have been confirmed to appear, though you can bet that plenty of other familiar faces from the heroes' personal lives will be back as well. One of those will probably be Samuel L. Jackson's super spy Nick Fury (even though, yup, he got dusted), who's been absent in the present day MCU since Avengers: Age of Ultron. As far as new faces go, The Wolverine actor Hiroyuki Sanada has been cast in an undisclosed role, along with 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford, and they likely won't be the only new players thrown into the mix.

We only have a few hours left until Avengers: Endgame finally hits theaters, so be sure to check back with this guide for all the updated info on the blockbuster!

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Toy Story 4 Might Be Pixar’s Last Sequel For Years

Toy Story 4 Might Be Pixar’s Last Sequel For Years

Beginning with the original Toy Story, Pixar has created many of the most popular animated films of the last 25 years. Considering the studio's third film was Toy Story 2, it was clear from the beginning that Pixar was more than willing to build franchises out of their successful properties, but in recent years the number of sequels has increased significantly. However, it seems that may be all about to change.

Over the last four years, Pixar has released five movies and four of them have been sequels. Beginning with 2016's Finding Dory, we've seen Cars 3, Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4, which is set to open next month. Only Lee Unkrich's Day of the Dead inspired Coco broke up the parade of sequels.

We know that the next movie coming following Toy Story 4 is an original project, the suburban fantasy movie Onward, but after that it's all a mystery. However, Toy Story 4 producer Mark Nielsen recently told THR that going forward, everything on the way is an original concept.

It’s all original films after this one right now.

Nielsen credits Pete Docter, the new head of Pixar Animation Studios following the departure of John Lasseter, for the fact that so many original concepts are on the way. Apparently Docter has been loading up the development side of Pixar since he took over, and he's been doing it with a lot of new people. Those new people obviously have their own ideas, and so they're not falling back on previous Pixar success.

This is almost certainly good news for Pixar as well as for fans of the studio. Pixar has been home to some of the most unique and original ideas in movie making, nevermind animation. Between the release of Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 Pixar had an incredible run of originality and quality that included Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up. That's one hell of a decade.

We've seen far more sequels over the last few years, and there's little argument that many of them have been good, but it would be hard to argue that any of them are better than the original entry in the series.

With the exception of Onward, which is set to release in less than a year in March of 2020, we have no idea what Pixar currently has in the pipleline. We do, however, know that there are at least four films that have reached a point that Disney plans to release them. Disney's most recent release calendar lists four "Untitled Pixar" movies between 2020 and 2022.

The first is only set to release three months after Onward, which means that it has to be almost as far along in development. 2021 will see a single Pixar release for the summer. Then, 2022 returns to the same schedule as next year, with two movies being released in close proximity, with one in March and another in the mid-June, window that Pixar has been holding onto for years.

For a studio that's largely been focused on no more than one movie a year, seeing five movies come out in three years is a lot. However, if that's what's on the schedule then it almost certainly means that Pixar has the projects in the pipeline to support it and the studio is confident that won't change. When Mark Nielsen says that all the movies after Toy Story 4 are original concepts, he must be talking, at the very least, about the five films that are currently scheduled for release. He could also be aware of projects beyond that depending on how confident Pixar is regarding which projects will move forward.

While so much of blockbuster film making, of which Pixar should always be considered a part, especially among the various Disney studios, is all about franchises and sequels, it's great to see Pixar taking the time to focus on original concepts. It's where the studio has always shined brightest.

Beyond that, you need original ideas if you're ever going to create the next big franchise. You have to have a great idea that people love first before you can start making sequels to it and all franchises get tired after awhile, so you need to refresh the pool of possibilities with entirely new ideas from time to time.

If something like Onward, or one of the other upcoming projects, becomes so well loved that Pixar considers a sequel, that's fine, but it only happens if you have the successful original idea to start with.

Of course, the downside of this news is that, if you were hoping for a sequel to your favorite existing Pixar movie, it apparently won't be coming in the short term if no sequels are on the schedule. If you've always wanted a Ratatouille 2 (and who hasn't?), you'll have to keep waiting.

Although, just because no sequels are being produced for the big screen, it doesn't mean that the existing Pixar franchises are being ignored. Monsters Inc. is getting its own animated series on Disney+ and the possibility for other projects to be produced specifically for the platform is certainly there. We know we'll be getting a short film about Bo Peep that will explain her pre-Toy Story 4 situation also on Disney+, so even after Toy Story 4 hits screens, we're still not done with that franchise, even if we never see a Toy Story 5.

We'll also receive a series of shorts on Disney+ featuring new Toy Story 4 character Forky.

With the addition of DIsney+ to the standard theatrical release schedule the opportunities for Pixar have never been greater. This should give the studio the ability to continue to create more movies and shows with the characters that we already love while also creating new stories for us to discover.

With Toy Story 4 coming out next month, we'll soon be setting our sights on all this brand new material. With two Pixar movies coming out over the next 13 moths, we'll probably be learning a lot more about both of them very soon. We'll likely get a trailer for Onward alongside Toy Story 4 and maybe we'll at least learn what the second film of 2020 will actually be called.

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Zoe Saldana Recalls Anton Yelchin Being ‘Nervous’ To Do Star Trek Justice

Zoe Saldana Recalls Anton Yelchin Being ‘Nervous’ To Do Star Trek Justice

A decade ago this week, Star Trek brought the legendary sci-fi franchise that Gene Roddenberry created for audiences in the ‘60s into a more modern context. And the cast and crew involved knew just how daunting a task that was, especially the actor playing the young version of Ensign Pavel Chekov, the late Anton Yelchin.

Anton Yelchin’s thoughts were conveyed by fellow Star Trek co-star Zoe Saldana in a new documentary entitled Love, Antonsha, which reflects on the untimely passing of Yelchin, and the legacy his brief, but luminous career has left behind. Saldana recalled the young man’s bout of nerves as follows:

He was so aware about the importance of Star Trek and the message that Star Trek had. He understood why it managed to live for such a long time, and he was nervous about being a part of it and giving it that justice.

When the character of Pavel Chekov was initially created, it was in the name of the brand of sci-fi optimism that Gene Roddenberry and his Star Trek brand were always meant to uphold. So obviously, rebooting such a staple of pop culture in the present day is a task that has to be handled very carefully.

This was especially true with Chekov, a Russian member of the multi-ethnicity crew of the USS Enterprise that signaled not only would the Cold War raging in reality eventually end, but that Russia would have a place on the greater world stage in the future. While that prophecy would be fulfilled, Anton Yelchin obviously still felt the weight of keeping this character true to his roots when making Star Trek with J.J. Abrams.

Anton Yelchin’s fears about doing justice to Ensign Chekov is just one of the many stories populating Love Antonsha, which the projects director, Garret Price, apparently didn’t have a hard time gathering. While talking to EW about the projects’ status, as well as sharing the clip of Zoe Saldana recounting her co-star with this beautiful story, Price mentioned that about 60 different A-listers had contributed in some way or another to this collection of memories. And the best part was they didn’t need to be convinced all that hard to say yes.

It’s not difficult to see why Anton Yelchin is so fondly remembered, and that extends even to the Star Trek franchise itself. While he was able to make the first three films in the modern reboot series, there’s still a bit of a discussion as to how his role will be filled, should Star Trek 4 move forward.

A fourth film is a rather questionable prospect at this time, but should any movement be made, it’s safe to assume that J.J. Abrams’ previous remarks about how both Anton Yelchin and Chekov are irreplaceable in the Star Trek universe will inform the decision that pertains to the helm of the Enterprise in its continuing mission.

Love Antonsha will be released into theaters at some point this summer. As soon as we have more information as to when to expect that film, we’ll report back, as well as update our 2019 release schedule accordingly.

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Shazam!’s Director Is Totally Reading The Early Reviews

Shazam!’s Director Is Totally Reading The Early Reviews

On Thursday night, early viewers of DC’s Shazam! were given the go-ahead to share their early reactions of the film ahead of its April release… and the reviews are glowing! Critics are raving about the upcoming superhero flick for being a delightful, humorous and lovable addition to the DCEU.

Looks like Shazam’s director David F. Sandberg was lurking around Twitter just as fans started to sing their praises. The filmmaker recently took to Instagram to share some of the positive reactions to the film. Take a look:

David F. Sandberg captioned the slideshow of radiant reception with “my evening” – probably amidst celebration and sighs of relief to see his film out in the world and embraced with open arms.

Since most of us have yet to see Shazam!, the Twitter blurbs offer some hype for the coming blockbuster. Early comparisons are to 1978’s Superman, The Goonies, Harry Potter, Big and Home Alone. There have also been reports that it’s the best DCEU movie yet, while being family-friendly and heartful. The main cast of Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer were additionally given a pat on the back as well.

The Instagram post ends with the filmmaker hitting F5, a.k.a. the refresh button, to probably bask on more positive takes on Shazam! We can imagine David F. Sandberg is on cloud nine after all of those nice words about a project he has been developing for some time and many fans are getting ready to buy their tickets!

Shazam! is certainly David F. Sandberg’s biggest directorial project to date, as he has helmed just two other feature length films prior: horror films Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. The hero also isn’t exactly as popular as say Batman or Superman. The DCEU hasn’t always been seen in a positive light, so it was certainly wasn't a surefire winner when the filmmaker took it on.

The upcoming movie looks like it delivers on humor and action, per the footage we’ve seen thus far. And these early reactions certainly give moviegoers more confidence to check it out. Shazam! follows a 14-year-old foster kid, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who is chosen to become an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) and has fun with his new powers alongside his friend Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), until a formidable villain, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) comes into the picture.

Shazam! will hit theaters on April 5, in between Marvel’s releases of Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. Early tracking has Shazam! opening at $50 million but as the release draws closer, we’ll have a better idea of how much of a success it will be. Last time DC released a superhero flick it made over one billion worldwide (Aquaman), so who knows? This early positive buzz certainly can only help the movie at the box office.

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