Category: News

  • Brian Michael Bendis Developing ‘Legion of Super-Heroes’ Show for HBO Max

    Brian Michael Bendis Developing ‘Legion of Super-Heroes’ Show for HBO Max

    HBO Max has ordered comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis to develop a Legion of Super-Heroes series.

    The news was revealed by Bendis himself.

    Per Bendis, the series is still in the very early stages of development. However, it is being developed as an adult animated series. He confirms he’s been working on it for a while now, but it has officially entered the next phase – although, he doesn’t necessarily specify exactly which phase.

    Bendis explained that he’s a die-hard Legion fan and asked to reveal the news to his followers, as he knows Legion fans don’t get news all that frequently. However, as he advises, things are early on meaning the project could be a ways out yet. He did, however, note that the adaptation will be based on the Legion of Super-Heroes title by Ryan Sook and Bendis.

    “And just like that series, on sale now, it will harken back to so many classics while at the same time doing what Legion does: pushing all the ideas of superheroes forward in every direction,” he writes. “I think Legion of superheroes is among the greatest franchises in the history of comics and I’m as honored to be curating them as I was Spider-Man.”

    Bendis warns fans because of how long animation takes, it’s doubtful news will surface about the title for a while. “Animation takes a loooong time so you may not hear anything about this for a while as I’m just getting to work on it over the break.”

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Artwork Offers Closer Look at Classic Villains Updated Designs

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Artwork Offers Closer Look at Classic Villains Updated Designs

    Spider-Man: No Way Home has been breaking records at the international box office. It builds upon the previous two film entries and continues the journey of Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker, while also paying tribute to what came before. Villains from the previous Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man franchises make a grand return, but with a twist. Marvel Studios and Sony have given these familiar faces a new look to highlight the meeting of old and new. Luckily, it seems that artwork has found its way online showcasing the details behind these new takes on familiar faces.

    Let’s start off with the first confirmed return, which was Alfred Molina‘s Doctor Octopus. His design has mainly remained the same, especially as Marvel Studios used their de-aging technology to make you believe that they are continuing their journey from the moment they were about to die.

    Doc-Ock No Way Home

    We also have the updated look at Green Goblin, as Willem Dafoe drops the mask for the iconic purple scarf, but just in the form of a ripped-up sweater. He still has his iconic green suit underneath, which ties the elements and adds a bit more usage to it.

    Green Goblin No Way Home

    Next up is Thomas Haden Church‘s return as Sandman, who spends most of the time in his sand form. We get a brief appearance of the actor at the end.

    Sandman No Way Home

    The Lizard makes a return from The Amazing Spider-Man and remains mostly the same. They sadly didn’t update his humanoid-reptile face, but it’s still a design that many fans of the film will be happy to see return.

    Lizard No Way Home

    Last, but certainly not least, Jamie Foxx returned as a very different take on Elektro. He’s gone through the most changes and they managed to find the perfect balance to make it work, especially with the nice touch that electricity creates his iconic mask.

    Electro No Way Home

    These are some great designs and it makes you wonder if they ever considered changing more elements as production was underway. You never know how much has changed once they get into the draft phase, which may never see the light of day.

    Source: Marvel via The Direct

  • Keanu Reeves Offers Update on Talks with Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige

    Keanu Reeves Offers Update on Talks with Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige

    John Wick and The Matrix‘s Keanu Reeves has been actively talking about his hope of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe one day. We heard that there were talks between him and Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige but it was uncertain what has come of them. Luckily, Phase Zero’s Brandon Davis had the chance to sit down with the actor during his press tour for The Matrix Resurrections, where he revealed that they’ve indeed had talks but that they “don’t have it yet” and they “got to find something.” He is still actively working towards a potential role and

    If they still haven’t found the right role as of yet, it might still be quite some time before we see Reeves join the franchise at some point. There was a point when Sony wanted him to tackle the role for the upcoming Kraven the Hunter spinoff series, but it seems unlikely he’ll join a Marvel project that doesn’t involve Feige, who spearheads the MCU. He has been a popular pick to take on the role of Ghost Rider, but it’s uncertain how committed he’d want to be while also juggling his other franchises. Here’s hoping they find the right character sooner rather than later.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘The Batman’s Robert Pattinson Mapped Out Bruce Wayne’s Story for at Least Two Sequels

    ‘The Batman’s Robert Pattinson Mapped Out Bruce Wayne’s Story for at Least Two Sequels

    It’s clear to everyone that Matt Reeves has big plans for his take on the Dark Knight. The Batman will introduce the world to a new take on the iconic vigilante, as the director already mapped out multiple spinoffs. In the latest Empire magazine, Dylan Clark confirms that they have ambitious dreams in an interview to “lay a foundation that you can build stories upon” as the first entry will be quite the standalone experience. It seems that its main star, Robert Pattinson, is in for the long run due to having planned out Bruce Wayne’s emotional story arc throughout multiple films.

    I’ve made a kind of map for where Bruce’s psychology would grow over two more movies. I would love to do it.

    Robert Pattinson

    It’s unclear how long they want to have this take on the DC hero to go for, but a trilogy seems like something Reeves probably already mapped out. If they are already developing spinoff series for HBO Max, we can assume with good consciousness that Warner Bros. is all in with this new take on the Dark Knight, even as they still continue to expand the DC Extended Universe. So, we’ll see what the future holds for the Caped Crusader.

    Source: Empire

  • What I Heard This Week: A New Sony Spinoff

    What I Heard This Week: A New Sony Spinoff

    Spider-Man: No Way Home brought 3 generations of Spider-Man heroes and villains together on screen and the end result was arguably the best live-action Spider-Man film to date. The movie featured incredible performances across the board, including those by Andrew Garfield, Willem Dafoe and Jamie Foxx, whose return to roles from prior iterations were highlights of the film. While rumors swirl about Garfield returning as Spider-Man again down the road, a new rumor has reached us that sounds pretty great in its own right.

    Sony’s strategy to create films around Spider-Man villains has already proven successful twice with Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage proving successful at the box office. Their next effort, Morbius, has generated a great deal of interest as the trailers have hinted at connections to Venom and Spider-Man: Homecoming. And now, it seems that another project will head into development spinning out of the successful return of Foxx in Spider-Man: No Way Home. We have word that Sony is now interested in developing an Electro solo project starring Foxx.

    Foxx gave a new take on the Max Dillon he played in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that resonated with fans and lit up social media. The response and the success of the film have led Sony execs to invoke a clause in Foxx’s contract that was, according to the source, tied to the box office opening of Spider-Man: No Way Home. It is important to note that the project has not been given the green light to go into production. Over the years, Sony has developed many projects that haven’t made it into production, so there’s no guarantee that, even with the great response to Foxx’s return as Electro, that this will be any different. In development does not mean in production.

    Assuming it’s a film, should the spinoff make it through the development process, it would join Spider-Woman and Kraven the Hunter as Sony-led Spider films and would be yet another project based on a villain, albeit a more familiar one. With great success comes great productivity and Sony is ready.

  • ‘Cobra Kai’ Wraps Season 5’s Production Ahead of Season 4’s Release

    ‘Cobra Kai’ Wraps Season 5’s Production Ahead of Season 4’s Release

    Well, this is quite an interesting development. Cobra Kai has become quite a popular series, especially after it moved from YouTube Red to Netflix. It has been such a hit that Netflix has already greenlit a fifth season and it seems they already wrapped up production before the fourth has even premiered on the streaming service. It is eyeing a release on December 31st, as the perfect way to kick off the year. It’s uncertain what it might mean for when the fifth season will release, but it seems likely the wait is going to be a bit shorter. The announcement came through Jon Hurwitz‘s Twitter account:

    The series takes place 34 years after the events of the original Karate Kid, as the old generation including Ralph Macchio‘s Daniel, and William Zabka‘s Johnny teaches a new generation. The original gain quite a bit of fame for taking a very different approach and focusing on the original’s antagonist. Of course, things aren’t that simple, as the revival of Cobra Kai leads to a renewed rivalry but also brings back some long-forgotten foes. It’ll be exciting to see how this season’s events might lead into the fifth.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Overtakes ‘Infinity War’ for Second Highest Opening, Swings Past $600M Worldwide

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Overtakes ‘Infinity War’ for Second Highest Opening, Swings Past $600M Worldwide

    Just yesterday, we discussed that Spider-Man: No Way Home just barely scratched the $600M milestone at the box office. The film became the third-highest opening for the US, but it turns out the final numbers had a little more to say. Normally, you don’t see strong shifts from Sunday into the Monday finalized numbers, but the film#s $252M jumped to $260M. As such, it has passed Avengers: Infinity War‘s $257.7M to take the second spot after all. Internationally, the film now stands at $340.8M – still missing China mind you – but remains at the third spot for its international opening.

    Its Sunday numbers now stand at $64.175M domestically, which keeps it at the third spot ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Black Panther. The interesting number is that 83% of colleges are closed today according to Comscore, which means that it might have an incredibly strong Monday showing. Plus, the holidays are around the corner which will add another layer to its box office run. It’s now the biggest December release of all time and has set a new benchmark for what the future has in store in 2022.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Almost Featured Morgan Stark

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Almost Featured Morgan Stark

    Spider-Man: No Way Home is filled to the brim with characters from across the multiverse. The story is a love letter to Spider-Man and his cinematic history, as well as pushing Tom Holland‘s character forward in new and interesting ways. Who knows how many scenes ended up on the cutting room floor due to just how much they already had to balance from the get-go. Well, it seems we found out about one, as Avengers: Endgame‘s Lexi Rabe, who famously played Tony’s daughter Morgan Stark, revealed she was cut from the film.

    It’s a curious surprise, as it makes you wonder what role she may have had specifically in the story. Of course, it’s still too early to discuss what was in the film, but there are a few moments where we may have had a brief moment of her appearing. The Stark connection does exist, as Tony did end up deciding to change the world to bring Peter back, who he probably saw as a surrogate son. We’ll see whatever storyline that could’ve been set up with her appearance might get revisited, as it is uncertain what future the character has in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is Sony’s Biggest Opening Weekend Ever With $587M Worldwide

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is Sony’s Biggest Opening Weekend Ever With $587M Worldwide

    the news just broke that Spider-Man: No Way Home has taken the spot of third-highest opening weekend in the domestic box office. Well, the international numbers are just in and it has continued that very trend worldwide. The film is just shy of a $600M opening with $587M. It’s now only the sixth film to open past the $500M mark and has instantly taken the sixth spot of biggest openers of the year. Keep in mind, what makes this an impressive accomplishment lies in the fact it is without a Chinese release.

    There are still hints it’ll open in the Middle Kingdom at some point, but the fact it’s already the biggest opening of the year and very likely to pass $1 billion internationally. It managed $253M domestically, which is great if you consider that no film since before the pandemic could scatch the $100M surface. It has managed to take in $334M worldwide as we enter the end of MCU Spider-Man’s trilogy that reintroduces some familiar faces of the character’s cinematic past.

    At this rate, even if it faces a 70% drop, there’s a good chance that the film will pass $1 billion around its third week. There’s no defined release date in China, but if it does manage to release in the coming weeks, there’s a good chance the film might near around $1.5 billion potentially, but anything near $2 billion seems a bit unlikely. There is a chance that the stories surrounding the Omnicom variant may also shift its development, but its performance is certainly impressive.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Swings its Way to Third-Highest Opening Weekend of All Time

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Swings its Way to Third-Highest Opening Weekend of All Time

    It’s been a turbulent weekend, as people flocked to theaters to witness the film that is Spider-Man: No Way Home. Everyone wanted to see if the rumors were all true and it led to the best opening since the pandemic, as the film has now premiered to $253M across 4,336 theaters in the US. As such, it now has broken many of its earliest expectations at the domestic box office. It beats out Sony’s other Spider-Man spinoff, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, that took the top opening just shy of $100M by a mile and offers some motivation about the box office’s full recovery. Tom Rothman had the following to say on the film’s success:

    This weekend’s historic Spider-Man: No Way Home results, from all over the world and in the face of many challenges, reaffirm the unmatched cultural impact that exclusive theatrical films can have when they are made and marketed with vision and resolve. All of us at Sony Pictures, are deeply grateful to the fabulous talent, both in front of and behind the camera, that produced such a landmark film. Thanks to their brilliant work, this Christmas everyone can enjoy the big screen gift of 2021’s mightiest Super Hero —your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

    Tom Rothman

    The numbers are impressive as they even compete with pre-pandemic releases, as the film is now the eighth to pass the $200M mark in the local box office and has nabbed the third-highest opening weekend of all time. It even doubled Homecoming‘s $117M opening weekend, which saw a slight dip with Far From Home‘s $92M. As it stands, the film has beat out Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s $220M, Jurassic World‘s $208M, as well as fellow Marvel Studios projects Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther. It’s an impressive accomplishment and it’ll be interesting to see how word-of-mouth might push the film moving forward.

    Source: Variety