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  • D23: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Almost Featured Groot on Fire

    D23: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Almost Featured Groot on Fire

    No, you read that correctly but a new piece of Thor: Love and Thunder concept art reveals that at some point in development, Groot may have been in flames. As shared by our own Charles Murphy attending the event, it seems like they were showcasing some artwork from the Thor sequel during his time with the Guardians. It features the Asgardian with his beard and likely took place earlier in the flashback of his time with the Guardians but it’s certainly something seeing Groot in flames like that.

    It’s always fun to get a look behind the scenes at what may have been, especially in a film that was as unhinged as Love and Thunder. In many ways, they definitely could’ve gone in any direction with the iconic Guardians of the Galaxy. Of course, having one of its most popular members just catch fire and not give it more focus might’ve been a waste especially with Groot being made of wood, Rocket wouldn’t just stand by as his son burns to a crisp.

  • Zach Gilford Boards ‘Criminal Minds’ Revival

    Zach Gilford Boards ‘Criminal Minds’ Revival

    The Paramount+ revival of Criminal Minds has a new name and a new actor. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Zach Gilford has joined the series in a key recurring role. He’ll play Elias Voit, an analyst for a cyber-security firm who has a dark side and an obsession with death. More interestingly, though, the series has received a new name. The revival is now titled Criminal Minds: Evolution.

    The actor is set to join the previously confirmed returning cast of Joe Mantegna, Kirsten Vangsness, Adam Rodriguez, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler and Paget Brewster. Not returning for the revival are Matthew Gray Gubler and Daniel Henney, with the latter currently starring on Prime Video’s adaptation of The Wheel of Time.

    While the revival is bringing back much of its core cast, the series is making one major change. In the past, Criminal Minds saw the team solve the case usually by the episode’s end. In the revival, though, the series will take a more serialized approach. Per the logline, Evolution will see the team “come up against their greatest threat yet, an UnSub who has used the pandemic to build a network of other serial killers. As the world opens back up and the network goes operational, the team must hunt them down, one murder at a time.”

    Gilford is perhaps best known for his work on shows such as Friday Night Lights, Good Girls and Midnight Mass. The actor has also appeared in films like The Purge: Anarchy and Devil’s Due. Next up for Gilford are the Netflix series The Midnight Club and Mike Flanagan‘s The Fall of the House of Usher.

    Criminal Minds: Evolution hails from showrunner Erica Messer, who worked on the original hit series. Production on the revival is currently underway.

    Source: THR.

  • D23: New Logos Spotted for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ and ‘Captain America 4’

    D23: New Logos Spotted for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ and ‘Captain America 4’

    D23 has just started but it looks like some small details are already finding their way online even with some time until to the actual conference tomorrow by Marvel Studios. As shared by @BRMarvelNews, it looks like new logos for Daredevil: Born Again and Captain America: New World Order have been spotted. The Daredevil logo includes the iconic DD that the character usually wears on his chest plate while Captain America has elements from Sam Wilson’s new suit.

    Source: Twitter

  • D23: New Marvel Studios Teaser Offers First Glimpse at ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘The Marvel’s

    D23: New Marvel Studios Teaser Offers First Glimpse at ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘The Marvel’s

    D23 is finally here and it’ll be an exciting weekend with potential reveals and hints at the future of our favorite Disney franchises. While there are still a lot of theories on what we might see or hear, it seems that a small teaser has been spotted at D23 which offers a little glimpse at not only The Marvels but also X-Men ’97. The footage shared by @BRMarvelNews doesn’t include any new footage but interviews with the director Nia DaCosta and some returning cast members of the 90’s X-Men: The Animated Series revival.

    Source: Twitter

  • D23: First ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Concept Art Offers First Look at Sequel

    D23: First ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Concept Art Offers First Look at Sequel

    D23 is finally here and it seems that quite a few exhibits have been set up for some of Disney’s cornerstone franchises. While some of the Marvel showcases are teasing the heroes we’ve already gotten to see throughout Phase 4, it seems Lucasfilm has gone out of its way to offer some insight into what Indiana Jones 5 will look like with an exclusive exhibit featuring our first concept art for the sequel.

    It’s crazy to think how little we actually still know about the project. With a new director, logan’s James Mangold, at the helm and it acting as a potential swan song for Harrison Ford in the role, who knows if this is our last hurrah with the character. Not too long ago there was a joking mention by Ford that he scared off Chris Pratt from ever thinking of taking on the role. So, we’ll see if that stays true for other actors moving forward.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Barbarian’ Looking to Top the Weekend Box Office

    ‘Barbarian’ Looking to Top the Weekend Box Office

    Barbarian is looking to scare up some business at the box office this weekend.

    The Hollywood Reporter reports the horror film took in $850k from Thursday previews. It is currently on track to take the top spot at the box office with $5 million to $6 million this weekend. The 20th Century Studios and New Regency flick, which is rated R, currently has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 71 reviews.

    While $5 million isn’t a notable return in box instances, September tends to be a quiet box office month. Outside of Top Gun: Maverick, which continues to exceed expectations, Barbarian has little competition. The only other big release this weekend is Bollywood pic Bramastra Part 1: Shiva, which took in $700k from Thursday previews. Estimates have that film on track for a $4 million weekend as it expands into 810 North American theaters. The film is set to have the biggest ever IMAX release for a Bollywood film.

    The only other large release for September will be Don’t Worry Darling, set to open later this month. The Warner Bros. Discovery flick, however, has been at the center of controversy as of late, and that could end up hurting its box office performance.

    Barbarian is now playing in theaters. Check out our review of Barbarian by heading here.

    Source: THR.

  • REPORT: Netflix May Move Away from its Binge Model, Embrace Weekly Releases

    REPORT: Netflix May Move Away from its Binge Model, Embrace Weekly Releases

    There’s been a lot of discussions in regards to what the future might have in store for Netflix. After facing its first major drop in subscribers, the all-in attitude in the streaming market has taken a few steps back. Still, the company is moving forward at full speed with the hope of making up for what it lost, as well as trying to establish an ad-supported model to start covering costs. It seems that may not be the last new move they are taking.

    In a new piece by Puck, it seems like Netflix is starting to test out more approaches to adding longevity to their series. Among them is embracing the weekly release and moving away from their traditional binge model. While in the past it helped a lot of projects get watched fast, it did lead to a different issue once more competition entered the market.

    HBO, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and more have been in the headlines a lot more with their projects releasing weekly. That way, even smaller projects got a little boost for longevity. Whiel series like Squid Game, Stranger Things, and even recently with The Sandman manages to keep up some impressive weekly viewership after a binge release, it creates a strong dependency that every project performs the same way.

    As Netflix hopes to bank on some newer projects to become their “next Stranger Things” like the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and One Piece, it creates a very different dynamic if they keep investing in countless shows and hoping their popularity alone will carry them. So, the move away from the binge model might help them in the long run but also requires a new key performance indicator to define the success of these shows. For now, we can only wait if they truly do start embracing this model.

    Source: Puck

  • ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Has Found its Ezra Bridger

    ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Has Found its Ezra Bridger

    If there’s been one casting that everyone is talking about with Ahsoka it is whoever may end up playing Ezra Bridger. The popular Jedi padawan was first introduced in the animated series Star Wars Rebels and when first hints with Ahsoka’s arrival in The Mandalorian hinted at a continuation of where that series left off, it seemed obvious he’d make his eventual live-action premiere as well. Now, it seems we finally know.

    While we got a tease of Ezra in Ahsoka back during Star Wars Celebration, it was still the one casting that has never been confirmed. As it turns out, we just had to wait until just ahead of D23 for the confirmation Eman Esfandi will take on the role of Ezra Bridger in the live-action spinoff heading to Disney+.

    He joins a stacked cast that already consists of Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ivanna Sakhno, Ray Stevenson, Hayden Christensen, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. We’ll see what the project will look like and how it will potentially tie in all open points in regards to Star Wars Rebels, as well as set up a future for these characters in this new post-The Mandalorian universe.

    Source: Cinelinx

  • REPORT: Pixar May Reveal an ‘Inside Out’ Sequel During D23

    REPORT: Pixar May Reveal an ‘Inside Out’ Sequel During D23

    D23 is finally here and as per usual, it seems that some news is hitting the web shortly before the event starts to get people’s gears turning on what exactly the future has in store. While Marvel Studios was quite the victim of this trend in the past, especially shortly before their panel during San Diego Comic-Con a few months ago, it seems Pixar is hit this time around. In a new piece by Puck’s Matthew Belloni, he reveals that a sequel to Inside Out is set to be announced at D23.

    It’s unclear exactly what the story might be or how it continues the original, but he does highlight that Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling are not set to return for the sequel. They took on the role of Fear and Disgust, but it would seem strange not to include the same emotions s the original did. Of course, we don’t know if this will stick to the original storyline and continue exploring the story of Kaitlyn Dias’ Riley growing up. There’s a chance they might take the concept and explore someone else’s life to mix things up. We did see the emotions of her parents also have their own voices.

    Still, Inside Out was quite a popular release and used a rather creative concept to tell a story about how we all try to handle our own emotions. It’s definitely an idea that opens up to many more possibilities and it does seem fitting that they’d potentially explore this part of their Pixar universe again. Who knows, perhaps it ends up as a Disney+ series that tells different stories from many different perspectives, as everyone tries to handle their own emotions.

    Source: Puck

  • D23: First Look at Tim Allen’s Return as Stana Clause for Disney+ Series

    D23: First Look at Tim Allen’s Return as Stana Clause for Disney+ Series

    D23 is finally upon us, as we anxiously await any reveal or tease of what’s to come in Disney’s future. While Disney+ Day surprisingly didn’t include any reveals for the streaming service, it led to many speculating that they are keeping their reveals and potential trailers for the upcoming Disney-owned event. Luckily, it turns out that while they are only getting started we’ve already gotten a first look at one of the upcoming projects

    As shared by Matt Dobrovolsky, it seems that they are showing some glimpses of what’s to come during D23. While he shared quite a few teases of what’s to come with the theme park side of Disneyland, it seems that they also included a first-look video where Tim Allen’s return in the upcoming The Santa Clauses Disney+ series has been unveiled.

    It definitely looks like Santa Clause and is our first look at the series. So, it seems likely that we might get our hands on a first trailer during the event. It also opens up the possibility of other Disney+ originals might get some promotion as well for what other new original series or legacy series are in development. Perhaps we’ll also see more from the National Treasure series that has been teased quite a bit. It’s a great little way to kick off D23.

    Source: Twitter