After the live-action take on Aladdin proved to be yet another success for Disney, a sequel was officially announced as being in development back in February 2020. Unfortunately, since then, things have been relatively quiet regarding Aladdin 2. While promoting his latest project, Amazon Freevee’s Hotel for the Holidays, Mena Massoud, who plays Aladdin, was asked to provide an update on the project, and it seems as though the sequel has stalled out a bit.
“I don’t know that there is movement. There was a change with the writers, and they are working on a brand new draft. That’s all I know. If ‘Aladdin 2’ happens, that’s fantastic. I think it should happen,” he said. “Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich of Rideback Productions, who do the “Lego” movies and “Aladdin,” want to make sure they get this right. So if we do see “Aladdin 2,” it’s not going to be based off the animated version at all. This is going to be a brand new original story.”
The Aladdin sequel doesn’t appear to be the only project undergoing changes. Billy Magnussenrevealed back in May that the Disney+ spinoff centered around his character, Prince Anders, was still in development but undergoing rewrites. “It’s in development. We are in the stages of rewrites right now, and it’s still moving forward,” the actor revealed at the time.
Aladdin, which was a misfire among critics, was a box office success for Disney having earned $1.05 billion at the worldwide box office. The film, directed by Guy Ritchie, starred Massoud, Naomi Scott and Will Smith.
This afternoon at 2:30 PM ET, Disney will begin a 3-hour and 20-minute long panel at CCXP ’22 in Brazil where it is expected to show off a significant amount of its 2023 slate from across its major brands. 20th Century Studios, Disney, Disney Animation, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios and Pixar are all expected to have a presence during the panel. Here’s an idea of what to expect.
20th Century Studios
The only question here is if Fox will show off anything other than Avatar: The Way of Water. The film is just 2 weeks away from release and press screenings begin early next week. Star Zoë Saldaña and producer Jon Landau are scheduled to be at the event and are likely to show off some footage from the film.
Thanks to Collider, we know that Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid will be front and center during their portion of the studio’s portion of the panel. The film, headed to theaters on May 26, 2023, stars Halle Bailey as Ariel and looked to be a visual spectacle when a teaser trailer of it was shown at D23. Given the May release, it’s possible a new trailer might be unveiled at CCXP.
Disney Animation
As of publication, not much about the animation panel has trickled out. It’s possible, however, that the animation studio might show off the upcoming Disney Plus film, Iwájú, and its next theatrical release, Wish.
Lucasfilm
It looks like Lucasfilm will be showing off at least 3 projects from its slate: Willow, which just launched this week on Disney Plus, The Mandalorian Season 3 and Indiana Jones 5. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are set to join the panel virtually and discuss Mando S3, which is reportedly streaming in February. A trailer for the third season was unveiled about 2 months ago, so it’s possible a new trailer, complete with an expected release date, might emerge from CCXP. As exciting as that will be, expect Indy 5 to take up a big chunk of Lucasfilm’s time. A trailer for the new film, complete with the title, has been cut and is waiting to roll out. Is today the day?
Marvel Studios
Kevin Feige does not do panels unless he can bring something special to the mix. He’ll be on stage in Brazil and will be joined by Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd,Evangeline Lilly and Jonathan Majors, whose Kang the Conqueror, a major piece of the Multiverse Saga plans, will be introduced in the film. The film comes out in just over two months on February 17, 2023, and a new trailer for it was just screened at an event in Singapore. Feige is bringing it with him and the only question is whether or not it’ll leave the screens at CCXP or be exclusive to the event. It’s very likely it’ll be playing in front of Avatar: The Way of Water, so even if it doesn’t get into the wild today, we’ll all see it soon.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will also get some attention at the panel, especially with Saldaña already in Brazil. Like Quantumania, new footage of it was shown in Singapore, so a trailer or some footage will be shown. The public has yet to see anything from the film, which is now just 6 months away from its May 5, 2023 release. While Marvel’s marketing window has been shorter recently, the same logic from above applies: they probably want this trailer in theaters with Avatar: The Way of Water.
Loki Season 2 was also part of the panel in Singpore and the footage shown there featured Majors’ Kang the Conqueror. Fortunately, Majors is already there, so expect him to give an update on Loki and perhaps introduce a new trailer. The series comes out after Quantumania, sometime in the Summer of 2023, so its unlikely an exact release date will be given.
Marvel Studios is also likely to at least talk about Secret Invasion and The Marvels, both of which are set for 2023 releases. At this point, it doesn’t seem likely that any major new announcements should be expected but rather just a showcase of 2023’s projects.
Pixar
Pixar will absolutely be showing off Elemental, the Peter Sohn-helmed film which is slated for a June 16, 2023 release. Here’s the official synopsis from Disney.com:
Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” is an all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.
Of course, there could always be surprises rolled out during such a long panel and Murphy’s Multiverse will be doing out best to share everything with you as it happens!
What happens if you combine Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mean Girls, and add a splash of Ghost Whisperer? Well, you get Darby and the Dead. The story of Darby Harper (Riele Downs), a young teenage girl who has the ability to see the dead. After a tragic accident sees the most popular girl in school pass away (Auli’i Cravalho), Darby is forced with an unlikely tag-along as she tries to make sure her frenemy manages to pass on but gets more than she initially bargained for.
The main concept is a fun idea to give the usual high school storylines an additional layer beyond the usual drama, but the film by Silas Howard is quite keen on trying to throw in as many ideas as possible. In addition to the “wacky” element of Darby seeing the dead, we also have her actively breaking the fourth wall throughout the story. It seems to imply we are also part of her gift, but it can sometimes be more distracting than anything else. Yet, it does also add some levity of social commentary regarding popular culture in high school. It only suffers from trying a bit too hard to replicate Ferris Bueller.
That very element does have the advantage of living off of Downs‘ performance throughout the film. She’s definitely a highlight and even with a more clichéd direction at times, she still finds a way to balance her character’s development of not falling too much into Means Girls territory. It’s simply a shame that the story still relies mostly on familiar territory rather than taking it into a new direction with a premise of someone able to speak to the dead. Instead of exploring Cravalho‘s Capri from that perspective, we mostly follow the outcast to popular girl storyline throughout.
One thing you can’t deny though is that the film has heart. It’s cheeky self-awareness be more a way to make use of the story’s trappings and build upon its characters. Darby is the main focus and the story doesn’t shy away from showing her as a flawed but well-meaning person. The story manages to find that balance that doesn’t turn it into a cautionary tale of popularity, but rather just showcasing that trying out new things is okay. Even with some of the usual story beats at play, the focus of this story and Darby’s development makes up for it in many ways. In times of resisting change, there’s something sweet of a story simply saying you don’t have to be popular but you shouldn’t close yourself off from the living either.
These are elements that work quite in favor of the film’s way of riffing on the material. While it does follow similar plot beats, we get a twist on one of the usual romance storylines and another that is hinted at but never truly followed through with. So, it manages to avoid one cliché by simply being busy with other plot elements throughout its runtime. In turn, this works in favor of creating more believable reactions rather than something that feels like a forced plotline. Capri similar is able to avoid some aspects of the popular girl trope by simply being in a position that won’t let her fully fulfill that role. So, there are elements where its base premise works in favor of not completely falling into what you’d expect form this type of story.
Even saying that, there’s still a lot of heart. Howard‘s direction adds some visually interesting shots and the way it handles her supernatural elements does make for some interesting set pieces. Even with some of my complaints, there’s still a self-awareness to the story that makes great use to it, especially when it comes to how Capri ends up passing away. It’s a light-hearted adventure that knows its mostly following in cliché territory. So, it makes great use of those story elements even if it’s not reinventing the wheel per say.
Darby and the Dead is an enjoyable ride, but could’ve used a bit more dead and less high school. There’s an earnest attempt at using a clichéd storyline by adding a message that’s more realistic. While it didn’t always hit the mark, it’s central messaging is definitely worth praising. It’s okay to change and let go of the past while also still looking at it with fond memories. Letting go is part of the process and sometimes it’s the hardest thing to do, especially when you yourself have to embrace change.
As revealed in the trailers, Darby and the Dead features a lot of inspirations, especially from the many high school films that released throughout the years. But, one can easily tell that Ferris Bueller’s Day Off plays a big inspiration in how Darby Harper breaks the fourth wall throughout her misadventure with the dead. Actress Riele Downs had the challenge of not only speaking to the deceased but also the audience and it seems it took some time getting used to.
As revealed during the official press conference for the film, Downs shared what it was like trying to communicate with the camera and “needing to play all these different beats” with whoever she had to interact in a specific scene. She’s an introverted character that is quite outspoken and that took some time to adapt to for Downs.
Honestly, it was maybe a little difficult to adapt to at first, just, like, how much dialogue there was and needing to play all these different beats, and to Auli’i’s characters who was not supposed to even be visible by other people. So, a lot of different dynamics happening, but it became natural pretty quickly, believe it or not. I guess maybe being more of an introverted slash introspective person that sort of, you kind of live that out in your life anyway I guess a little bit.
Riele Downs
Adding the fact that she can see the dead that aren’t visible to others lends the film a certain unique challenge. We’ve seen the fourth wall being broken by quite a few characters, as it became popular once again with the arrival of Deadpool but it does add a unique take with Darby’s ability. So, it’ll be interesting to see how she brings it to life when Darby and the Dead release son Hulu on December 2nd.
If you’ve ever wondered just ho wmany Avatar films might be in our future, director James Cameron might have just the answer for you. As he’s busy promoting th erleease of the first sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, he has talked about his plans and just how far he hopes to push this new project. The first sequel alone is a big gamble, as the production budget is so high that without breaking $2 billion, he’d likely not be able to make more than a trilogy. Yet, while he already openly laid out his plans for four sequels, it seems he can go further.
In an interview wiht The Hollywood Reporter, he highlighted that he’d likely be working on Avatar films until he’s 89, as he has ideas for a sixth and seventh film, but only if therE’s interest. He also highlighted that he would have a succession plan on a director that could continue his work and the 800-page diary that is filled with the extensive world-buliding he mapped out for the first entry.
Obviously, I’m not going to be able to make Avatar movies indefinitely, the amount of energy required. I would have to train somebody how to do this because, I don’t care how smart you are as a director, you don’t know how to do this.
James Cameron
Cameron is famous for having a very specific vision for his projects. So, it’s not too surprising that he’ll likely not pass on the work to anyone without truly keeping a close eye on them. Ironically, he’s simlar to how Tom Cruise closely vets the people they work with, almost like they function as their own little production studio trying to keep a certain amount of quality control and direction alive.
Director Ang Lee is set to direct his son, Mason Lee, in a Bruce Lee biopic. The news was announced by Deadline with the outline noting Lee will portray in Bruce Lee for Sony’s 3000 Pictures. The script is currently being written by Dan Futterman (Capote). Futterman takes over screenwriting duties from Jean Castelli, Alex Law and Mabel Cheung and Wells Tower who have all worked on previous iterations of the script.
The movie is being produced by Lawrence Grey, Shannon Lee, Ang Lee, Ben Everard and Brian Bell. While Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva are set to oversee the project for Sony’s 3000 Pictures.
“Accepted as neither fully American nor fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Kung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who revolutionized both the martial arts and action cinema. I feel compelled to tell the story of this brilliant, unique human being who yearned for belonging, possessed tremendous power in a 135-pound frame, and who, through tireless hard work, made impossible dreams into reality.”
Ang Lee in a statement to Deadline
Lee is said to have been working towards directing Bruce Lee for quite some time, reportedly having worked with his son to prepare him for the role, too. Mason is said to have been training for the part for the past three years in Asia. The young actor has appeared in The Hangover Part II, his father’s film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and Who Killed Cock Robin?
“Bruce Lee is a longtime passion project for Ang and a deeply emotional story depicting the triumphs and conflicts of one of the foremost real-life action heroes of our time. All of us at Sony and 3000 Pictures are proud to help Ang and his filmmaking team create what we believe will be an extraordinary theatrical event.”
Elizabeth Gabler in a statement to Deadline
As of now, Bruce Lee does not yet have a release date.
If fans were wondering what they might expect at CCXP in Brazil this weekend, Marvel Studios seems to have given them a pretty big hint. Disney had a major presentation at the APAC Showcase 2022 in Singapore and while it wasn’t solely focused on Marvel Studios, the presentation gave fans in attendance a first look at 2023’s Phase 5 projects.
According to a report from Geek Culture, brand new trailers were shown for Ant-Man andThe Wasp: Quantumania, Loki Season 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The Disney Plus streaming series Secret Invasion and the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, were also part of the presentation, though the site reported that no new footage was shown though a release date “between June and August” is being reported elsewhere. Whether that’s just a guess because those are the Summer months or if that was stated at the presentation is still unclear.
It’s been expected that a new trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be a part of Marvel Studios’ reported CCXP presentation in Brazil and the fact that they were rolled out in Singapore all but confirms it. A new look at Loki Season 2, which reportedly features Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror, Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna and a plethora of Variant Lokis who find themselves fighting in what’s likely the multiversal war He Who Remains warned of in Season 1.
Majors‘ Kang was definitely a focus of the presentation as the new trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania reportedly showed an extended scene of the character negotiating with Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. A similar scene played exclusively at D23, painting a chilling portrait of the character. Like the rest of the footage from the APAC Showcase, the new footage has not yet been released to the public, but with Quantumania headed to theaters in February following Avatar: The Way of Water, it is incredibly likely the new trailer will be officially released sometime in early December.
Finally, footage from May’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 played for the audience and revealed serious tension between Star-Lord and the Variant Gamora who now finds herself part of The Ravagers but with no interest in Quill’s affection. Much like the footage shown at D23, the APAC Showcase footage gave a brief glimpse of Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock and teased a look at the origins of Rocket. Like Quantumania, it’s possible that Disney might like the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer to play in front of Avatar: The Way of Water, which is likely going to draw large audiences throughout early 2023.
Though nothing new was revealed about Secret Invasion or The Marvels, it is interesting that the streaming series Echo was absent from the presentation. At last update, Echo was expected to stream on Disney Plus sometime after Secret Invasion and before Loki Season 2. Short of projects like Ironheart and Agatha: House of Harkness, which are expected to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2023, the APAC seemed to be a pretty comprehensive look at what 2023 has in store for Marvel Studios’ fans, making Echo’s exclusion a bit of an anomaly.
Paramount is bringing Top Gun: Maverick back to theaters for a limited time. On Tuesday, the studio announced that Maverick will be flying back into theaters, including select premium large formats and IMAX, beginning December 2nd through December 15th.
Maverick, the sequel to Top Gun, earned $1.48 billion worldwide during its theatrical run. $716 million of that came from the domestic box office, while the remaining $770 million came from the international box office. It remains the highest-grossing movie of the year by a landslide and is one of only two films to cross $1 billion at the box office this year, with Jurassic World Dominion ($1.001 billion) being the second.
“’Top Gun: Maverick’ truly epitomizes the magic of the moviegoing experience, and we wanted to provide fans the opportunity to once again enjoy this cinematic spectacle as it was meant to be seen. This feels like the perfect time to bring ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ back to theaters so audiences everywhere can once again experience how special this film is.”
Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution
The movie was released in May and, per Paramount, it is the only film to ever be No. 1 at the domestic box office for both Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays. Maverick, which is star Tom Cruise‘s first film to open over $100 million in a single weekend, also stands as Paramount’s highest-grossing domestic release ever.
Top Gun: Maverick officially hit digital streaming on August 23rd and Blu-Ray and DVD on November 1st. It is currently slated to debut on Paramount+ on December 22nd, just in time for the holidays.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be DC’s first 2023 theatrical release, heading into theaters on March 17th, 2023. Director David F. Sandberg, who returned to the franchise following the success of 2019’s Shazam! recently indicated that he’d completed post-production on the film, which filmed from May through August of 2021, and now a new report gives information on just how long the final cut of the film is expected to be.
According to One Take News, Shazam! Fury of the Gods will clock in at 2 hours, 10 minutes and 4 seconds. For reasons unbeknownst to 99% of the population of the known universe, fans have recently developed an unhealthy obsession with runtimes, using them to predetermine the quality of a film. Though it’s unclear where 130 minutes falls on the graph of quality of film vs. minutes of screentime, it is clear that it’s somewhat higher up than if the film were 2 hours and 9 minutes long, but also lower than the 2019 film, which ran for 2 hours and 12 minutes.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will see Asher Angel return as Billy Batson and Zachary Levi return as Batson’s super-powered avatar. The sequel will see Batson and the Shazam Family take on the Daughters of Atlas played by Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren.
Rumors of star Tom Holland closing in on a deal to return as Peter Parker have had fans patiently awaiting official word for a month. While nearly everyone believes that Disney and Sony want to and will reach a deal with Holland, whose Spider-Man last appeared nearly a year ago in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the lack of an announcement by Sony has fans on edge. Even though Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige assured fans that a new project was in development and that the character would, alongside Daredevil, lead the street-level heroes of the MCU in the Multiverse Saga, nobody is counting chickens just yet. However, a new rumor has emerged and may give fans of Holland’s version of the character a bit of hope.
According to Twitter Cape Time Podcast host Tom Smith, a fourth Sony-Marvel Studios Spider-Man collaboration has been fast-tracked and could be in theaters by 2024.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 is on the fast track. Holland is signed, but one thing that needs to be settled is the director. Watts is wanted back, but he experienced superhero burnout and dropped out of Fantastic Four for a reason. Zendaya is also wanted back. #SpiderManpic.twitter.com/vz0IhiduYB
The rumor, aligning with a previous rumor, has Spider-Man 4 going into production in the Summer of 2023 with Sony looking at releasing the film in the Summer of 2024. With Marvel Studios already having 2 films (Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts) on the slate for that Summer, some maneuvering of the slate might be necessary; however, both Sony and Marvel Studios are well aware of how important the character is to the overall health of both their wallets, so it would seem likely that the two studios would work something out. While 2024 is a busy year for Marvel Studios (the untitled Deadpool and Wolverine film and Blade are both set for 2024 releases), June, August and October are wide-open months and the reality is that whether it’s Spider-Man 4 or a Marvel Studios film that shifts dates, audiences will fill theaters regardless of when it releases.
Though a 2024 release date is anything but official at this point, Sony’s desire to get another Spider-Man film into theaters quickly is anything but surprising. Spider-Man: No Way Home was a major box office win for Sony, ultimately grossing nearly $2B for the company and showing major staying power over its theatrical run. For Marvel Studios, Holland’s new deal would get Spidey back in action for what would likely be a trio of MCU-set solo films and appearances in the upcoming Avengers films.
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