Tag: HBO Max

  • REPORT: Sinestro to Appear in HBO Max’s ‘Green Lantern’

    REPORT: Sinestro to Appear in HBO Max’s ‘Green Lantern’

    The upcoming HBO Max’s Green Lantern will span multiple decades, as we follow Lanterns from past and present. The film will explore the stories of Alan Scott, Guy Gardener, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, and Bree Jarta, who is an original character made for the series. It is set to start production next week. So, the timing of this reveal is quite interesting, as Illuminerdi has learned that Sinestro will appear in the upcoming series. Yes, that Thaal Sinestro will have a role of some kind. The warrior of will, who would eventually turn into an agent of fear.

    The character is described to be “akin to a warrior monk.” It’s a fitting description for the character, who was previously played by Mark Strong in Ryan ReynoldsGreen Lantern film. They are looking to cast someone in their 40s to play the “greatest of all the Green Lanterns,” who will serve as a “strategic commander.” He will be a series regular with his darker side being teased prominently. So, we might see the Sinestro Corps make an appearance at some point in the HBO Max series.

    Green Lantern currently has no release date but is currently set to release exclusively on HBO Max. The series is set to be written by Marc Guggenheim and Seth Grahame-Smith and produced by Greg Berlanti. The inclusion of Sinestro may hint at future appearances by other major characters like Hal Jordan or John Stewart. It’ll be interesting to see how the series ties together the different decades in the Green Lantern’s history once it releases on the Warner Bros. streaming platform.

    Source: Variety, FTIA, Illuminerdi

  • WarnerMedia No Longer Releasing Its Films Simultaneously in Theaters and HBO Max as of 2022

    WarnerMedia No Longer Releasing Its Films Simultaneously in Theaters and HBO Max as of 2022

    Warner Bros. surprised everyone when they decided that every major release of 2021 will be available simultaneously in cinemas and on their streaming service, HBO Max. We’ve seen others follow suit, such as Disney releasing their films on their new Disney+ Premier Access, like Black Widow. The pandemic is still an active problem that doesn’t have an end in sight for now. So, it is difficult to really pinpoint where everything is heading.

    Luckily, Godzilla vs. Kong managed to defy expectations and nab 48M in the local Box Office. It was a sign that maybe things can go back to normal. Yet, it looks like WarnerMedia is not quite done with its streaming strategy, as CEO Jason Kilar revealed in an interview with Recode Media that they are switching it up next year:

    I think it’s very fair to say that a big, you know, let’s say a big DC movie … it’s very fair to say that that would go exclusively to theaters first and then go to somewhere like an HBO Max after it’s in theaters.

    As such, The Batman‘s upcoming 2022 release will head to theaters before releasing on the streaming platform unlike this year’s The Suicide Squad. It matches a recent announcement where the Regal theater chain made a deal for a 45-day exclusive showing before it is allowed to be streamed. It was never officially confirmed until now, as pointed out by recode. The decision makes sense and we might see it with many other films. It is common for digital releases to come out before they’re available physically. We might see Disney also echoed this strategy in the near future to promote Disney+ followed by many other publishers with streaming services.

    Source: Recode Media via Vox, Deadline

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: How Monarch Remains the Monsterverse’s Greatest Potential and Its Biggest Crutch

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: How Monarch Remains the Monsterverse’s Greatest Potential and Its Biggest Crutch

    Godzilla vs. Kong has been our first sign that cinemas are recovering. The showdown between these cinema icons has offered an exciting and visually stunning film. An aspect that makes these films stand out from their predecessors is how it deepens its mythology. We explore how these giants can co-exist with humanity. We come to learn in Godzilla: King of the Monsters how these beasts have been hibernating for millennia. It is a great concept that offers our human characters something to do while avoiding getting trampled to death by the mountain-sized Titans. Yet, the latest entry in Legendary’s Monsterverse has revealed how this focus can also drag out a storyline.

     

    Monarch Sciences

     

    To offer a quick rundown, we follow two distinct groups. One ragtag team focuses on uncovering Godzilla’s strange and erratic behavior of randomly destroying cities. The other follows Kong, who is seeking his home in Hollow Earth. In theory, it is a great idea to explore a mysterious world at the center of our planet. Yet, the point of the series is the showdown between Godzilla and Kong. So, we barely scratch the surface of this strange new ecosystem and the Titans that live there. We quickly have to establish Kong, his new weapon, and a way for him to get to Hong Kong.

    The concept is interesting, but it feels more like a pitstop rather than natural worldbuilding. In the intro, Godzilla vs. Kong teases the mighty battles between their ancestors, yet there was no mention of it to this day. They have been building up this showdown for some time, but it feels a bit slapped together in a way. Their only motivation is that two Alpha predators can’t exist at the same time. Yet, they technically have with Kong living on Skull Island all this time. Hollow Earth got teased in King of the Monsters, but it doesn’t match what we witness in its sequel. We got introduced to these two curious concepts of a society worshipping these creatures, but they are nothing more than window dressing for the story. The tribe we met in Kong: Skull Island ended up getting eradicated off-screen since the 2017 film was released. It felt like a waste to skim over that aspect.

     

    Monarch Sciences

     

    In a way, they try to use Monarch purely as an expedition dump. The 2014 Godzilla focused on people that weren’t related to the secret organization, who started gaining center stage with each new entry. Each film needs to explore and explain the history of these monsters. At some points, they try to get the human characters to have an essential role in the Titan’s battle, which feels a bit forced. It creates a bizarre dichotomy of these giants that survived long before us being a bit dependent on human meddling. The problem is that the human characters don’t feel like they have a personal challenge to overcome but rather are cogs to push towards specific story beats.

    Monarch is a great concept to tie the movies together, but it is time to focus on more personal stories as the mythology grows in the background. It got rumored that Monarch might get its own HBO Max spin-off series. It can serve as the mythology-based series that explores everything set up throughout the Monsterverse, while the films can take a step back and offer some new perspectives on a world filled with Titans roaming freely.

  • ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’: Zendaya Voicing Lola Bunny

    ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’: Zendaya Voicing Lola Bunny

    Here’s an interesting surprise. It looks like the upcoming Space Jam sequel has recast the voice of Lola Bunny. Entertainment Weekly has unveiled that Spider-Man actress Zendaya will be the new voice for Lola Bunny. She is joining the LeBron James-led project that will introduce us to the Serververse of Warner Bros. The first trailer teased an all-star cast of iconic WB characters making an appearance. Director Malcolm D. Lee has been vocal about the fact that he wants to fully realize the character since he saw her portrayal in the first film in 2019. He gave the following statement during the Space Jam: A New Legacy cover story.

    Lola was not politically correct. This is a kids’ movie, why is she in a crop top? It just felt unnecessary, but at the same time, there’s a long history of that in cartoons. We reworked a lot of things, not only her look, like making sure she had an appropriate length on her shorts and was feminine without being objectified, but gave her a real voice. For us, it was, let’s ground her athletic prowess, her leadership skills, and make her as full a character as the others.

    The way he describes the character makes Zendaya the perfect choice to tackle the character. She has been considered a leading voice of her generation with her work on Euphoria. She is taking over the role that Kath Soucie made iconic in the original 1996 film. Kristen Wiig gave the character a unique spin in The Looney Tunes Show, which was a personal favorite. We cannot wait to see the actress lend her voice and bring the character to life in the upcoming legacy sequel.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: Toho Refuses That Godzilla Shows Emotions

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: Toho Refuses That Godzilla Shows Emotions

    Godzilla vs. Kong has just been released in theaters and on HBO Max. The film showed the two cinema icons face off in a battle of the Titans. Yet, some fans might have noticed that Kong got a bit more attention throughout the story. He has an entire arc and shows quite a bit of emotion, while his counterpart seems to be consistently pissed about having to fight the giant monkey. It looks like there is a reason why Godzilla only gets very brief moments to emote. According to the film’s director Adam Wingard, Toho has set strict rules about how Legendary can use their trademarked character.

    One of [the rules], for instance, is (that) they don’t want Godzilla to emote. They see him as like this god-like force of nature, and so to them, it’s out of character if you have him reacting in a normal way to things. But, there’s always ways around it. We definitely have some moments where I think Godzilla is more emotive in this film than he has been in any of the MonsterVerse movies. We just had to get clever with it. And I think that sometimes that stuff is kind of presented to you in a very kind of brick-wall kind of way. But if you just do certain things, and present it to them just right, and if they’re on board with the movie, they seem to give us plenty of leeway.

    It’s certailny curious that they want to avoid the giant to show any emotions. Yet, it makes sense if you consider that Godzilla is a force of nature, whose origins are rooted in Japanese history. So, they would want to avoid the giant lizard being overly emotive. Wingard does tease that they snuck in some moments, which offer a slight glance into the King of the Monsters’ mind. Here’s hoping we get more

    Source: ReelBlend via Dread Central

  • First Leaked ‘Titans’ Set Photos Reveals Wanted Posters and Red Hood’s Threat

    First Leaked ‘Titans’ Set Photos Reveals Wanted Posters and Red Hood’s Threat

    Titans have been quite busy preparing for its upcoming season. After facing various delays due to the pandemic, it was finally able to enter production earlier this year. We know that Curran Walter‘s Jason Todd will pick up the mantle of Red Hood in the upcoming season. titans red hood. We’ll also see the addition of Barbara Gordon, who will be played by Savannah Welch, and Scarecrow. Now, we don’t know quite yet how all these pieces will fall together, but a recent set photo from @TOFilming_EM has offered a look at wanted posters for the various team members. It even includes Blackfire, who was teased in the previous season as a big bad. It also teases that the “Red Hood Rises, which could be building up towards Jason building up his own gang under the iconic moniker.

    There is a lot to take from these images. The Wanted posters groups Blackfire with the Titans. So, they might end up working together at some point in the series. She may also be the reason they are on the run from the law, which could mean they are involuntarily stuck with her. The “Red Hood Rises” posters are also really interesting. It almost makes it seem like they are a gang. They are using the red hoodie design to visualize the character, but not the iconic mask we know he will wear throughout the series.

    He also has been commonly connected with groups, such as Batman: Arkham Knight making him the leader of a group of mercenaries. The next season is going to shake things up in an interesting way. I also love the question mark from the Riddler tucked way in the corner, which could tease his arrival or just act as a nice Easter Egg.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ Release Pushed Back To Give ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s More Time In the Spotlight

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ Release Pushed Back To Give ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s More Time In the Spotlight

    Well, it seems that Warner Bros. wants to bank on their upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong release, as they’ve decided to postpone Mortal Kombat‘s release by a week. As Deadline points out, the latest entry in the Monsterverse has been garnering a lot of attention and Box Office buzz. So, it isn’t too surprising that the studio wants to cash in on the current revival of cinema and give tomorrow’s release some breathing room. Mortal Kombat also has been quite a success with its initial reveal, as it is the most viewed red band trailer at around 116M views. So, it seems they want to make sure both films get enough time to bank on their potential success.

    As of now, Mortal Kombat will release on April 23rd. It’s the next film delay after Black Widow was pushed into July alongside many other Disney properties. Of course, the difference isn’t as bad and we can wait another week after it already got pushed back from its initial January release.

    Godzilla vs. Kong is going to be a beast that has already reenergized the international Box Office. So, Warner Bros. is hoping to get their money back on both properties, which have had some amazing early buzz. Of course, they will still be available on HBO Max at the same time. If they can revive cinema and add to their subscriber count, they will probably be looking into adjusting their overall schedule to ensure that each film has enough breathing room moving forward.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer Reveals a Startling Threat

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer Reveals a Startling Threat

    Ever since the first reveal at DC FanDome, fans have been eagerly awaiting a new look at The Suicide Squad. The film will see the return of Task Force X. We’ll get to see some familiar and new faces that won’t survive the experience. The film will follow the newly formed squad, as they’re dropped into a South American country to fight something that is probably out of their leagues. Luckily, these kinds of trailers have a lot of secrets. Even better, we happened to notice a few curious details that might tease the film’s story.

     

     

    The first notable detail is from the beginning of the trailer. We see the squad en route to free a capture Quinn, who seems to be a key member of the team. Waller briefly glances at Harley’s rap sheet. It includes a new mugshot and some recent additions. Upon these new badges of criminality, eagle-eyed viewers will notice “Vigilantism,” “kidnapping,” and “Extortion.” These crimes were committed by Quinn in the 2020 film Birds of Prey when she frees Cassandra Cain from Prison and proceeds to keep her safe from the sadistic Roman Sionis. This little detail shows that Harley is continuing to move away from Joker, and her character progression continues here. I’m not sure if there was any doubt that there would, but it’s still nice to see.

     

     

    In this very same scene, we get a brief glimpse at a monitor in front of her. The monitor is streaming footage from a plane. It appears to be carrying the team members teased earlier in the trailer. You can make out Savant, Javelin, and what seems to be Rick Flag. There is a good chance they edited this scene to make it look like Harley’s rescue is happening simultaneously. In the footage, we see Javelin on the plane in one piece, but when Harley appears, later on, she’s wielding his spear. It would imply that he died at one point. This slight and easily missed detail is clever to keep us off the film’s timeline.

     

     

    There is a particularly eye-catching scene with Harley Quinn, which presumably could be happening mid-breakout due to her bloody nose. She seems to be surrounded by a wide array of flowers that seem to be blooming behind her. This scene could be reminiscent of Harley’s GCPD jailbreak in which she leads a full-on, one-woman assault on the station to free Cass. Yet, instead of blood, all we see is glitter going off in every possible direction. It might be the return of “Harley Vision” that replaces the actual gore of the sequence with some colorful flourishes.

     

     

    Now, we have to talk about the standout character of King Shark, who is already a bonafide hit. Sylvester Stallone finally confirmed that he is voicing the character, who also had his first voice role in the latest trailer. There will be many comparisons between his character and James Gunn’s other mascot character, Groot. They both serve as the comedic foils for their respective films. He’s sure to be a scene-stealer as he munches and tears his way through the onslaught of foes.

     

     

    Finally, the film gave us our first look at the big bad, Starro the Conqueror. He is an intergalactic starfish who uses his children as mind control devices. They attach to the faces of anyone and take control of their host’s mind. The villain has been rumored since the FanDome event after some eagle-eyed fans caught a glimpse of one of his stars on a soldier’s face, but it was never officially confirmed. John Economos, played by comedian Steve Agee, exclaims that “We’ve got a freaking Kaiju,” which is almost perfect considering this trailer will most likely play alongside Godzilla vs. Kong in theaters.

    The Suicide Squad is set to release in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6th. The film was written and directed by James Gunn. It will star Margot RobbieIdris ElbaJohn Cena, Daniella MelchiorDavid DastmalchianSylvester StalloneJoel KinnamanPeter CapaldiJai CourtneyViola Davis, and so many more as the film sports on the most all-star cast in the comic book genre.

    Source: YouTube

  • ‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer Confirms Sylvester Stallone as King Shark

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer Confirms Sylvester Stallone as King Shark

    There has been an ongoing debate about who might be voicing King Shark in James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad. At one point, it was revealed that Taika Waititi had joined the cast. After his performance as Korg in Thor: Ragnarok, he seemed like the perfect person to voice the loveable human shark. Suddenly, Silvester Stallone was confirmed to appear in the film, which made us wonder if he might also be the one voicing the character. Finally, the latest trailer released and King Shark actually has a speaking part. It confirmed that Stallone is indeed the one taking on the loveable maneater’s voice:

     

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1375481778064957440

    He even confirmed it on Instagram shortly after the trailer dropped:

    Overall, the trailer looks like a lot of fun that perfectly blends James Gunn‘s humor with comic book insanity. Just like Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Groot, King Shark will certailny become a fan-favorite once the film releases. Their interpretation of the character is also a departure from the comics. Yes, he was a bloodthirsty shark in the comics, but he’s shown to be quite intelligent. The character already had his live-action debut on The Flash, where they changed his origin. He was a regular man that transformed into a half-man, half-shark, unlike in the comics, where he is the son of a shark god. It’s an interesting departure and will certailny add some humorous yet gory moments throughout the film’s runtime.

    Source: YouTube, Twitter, Instagram (Stallone)

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’: First Look at Nitara Revealed

    ‘Mortal Kombat’: First Look at Nitara Revealed

    We’ve been anxiously awaiting the next attempt at a live-action adaptation of Mortal Kombat. The franchise found its footing on the silver screen in 1995. As technology wasn’t as advanced at the time, they focused on specific characters that wouldn’t be easy to adapt. Plus, the roster has only grown since then, as the game franchise is already on its eleventh incarnation. When they started advertising the film, we got a slew of character posters that revealed the massive roster. Yet, eagle-eyed viewers noticed that the trailers were hiding some secrets. It wasn’t until later that we got our first look at Cabal. Well, it seems one more classic fighter is joining the upcoming film, as Greg Russo has revealed our first look at Nitara:

    The character made her debut in 2002’s Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. She is a vampire that preys on the life of others, similar to Shang Tsung. Unlike him, she requires blood rather than soul energy. It looks like her live-action design will keep the iconic wings, but her body seems covered in something. There is a chance that she might be able to transform. So, we’ve only gotten a glimpse at her true form. Hopefully, she’ll still stick to her gothic design from the games, or at least they pay tribute to it. The character is neutral and doesn’t serve anyone. It’ll be interesting to see how large a role she might have, but if they didn’t even give her an official announcement, she might be one of the many Fatality victims throughout the film.

    Source: Twitter