Tag: Movie News

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Tessa Thompson Teases Valkyrie’s LGBTQ Romance

Thor: Love and Thunder teases its main focus in the name of the film. While we’ll get our usual action, director Taika Waiti teased that he wanted to explore romance just a bit more in the upcoming project. There have been quite a few rumors that Valkyrie might have a romance of her own throughout the film’s story, and Tessa Thompson teased what’s to come in an interview with The Wrap. She shares her excitement on exploring this new aspect of her character in the film, as she states that:

It’s totally exciting. We talk so much about representation and obviously, in terms of the LGBTQIA community, there’s still so much work to be done. But if you look at the comics in the canon, there are so many queer characters! It’s hard because Taika (Waititi, who directed both of Thompson’s “Thor” films) and I would’ve even liked to go further, but in the context of the movies, there’s only so much we can do. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of time invested in love stories in Marvel movies in general. I think that will be a little different on the new “Thor,” which is exciting. And getting to play a character that historically is not written for somebody that looks like me, all of that felt exciting.
Tessa Thompson

It would be interesting to find out what their original vision might’ve been, but there’s always the chance they could expand it through a Disney+ series or spinoff film at a later time. Valkyrie is a character with a lot of history that is worth exploring. If Waititi still has some stories he wants to tell – and he’s also no stranger to long-form storytelling, there might be a chance that he and Tessa Thompson can take another swing at it later down the line, as it’s definitely a story worth telling.

Source: The Wrap

January 21, 2022
‘Knives Out 2’ Eyeing Late 2022 Release

Netflix caught everyone’s attention when they made the deal of a century to purchase any future entries of the murder mystery franchise Knives Out. The series, created by Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, will not only get one sequel but two as part of the deal. It looks like the next entry, which started filming last year, is already eyeing a release in the last quarter of 2022 according to a new report by Variety.

Not just that, it also will try to release at festivals early, but there has been no word which one it might end up being. For now, Netflix is all in with the project, and with a festival focus, they are likely trying to prepare for next year’s Oscar season, as they are currently expected to dominate with The Power of the Dog, Don’t Look Up, and Tick, Tick … Boom!.

The only returning actor for the film is Daniel Craig as the iconic detective. Johnson’s team is also rounded out with those that helped in the first feature, such as editor Bob Ducsay and cinematographer Steve Yedlin. The first one was originally released through Lionsgate and was produced by Media Rights Capital before Netflix purchased the franchise for $450M back in March. It’ll be exciting to see the next storyline with an all-star cast, which includes Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, and more.

Source: Variety

January 21, 2022
‘Lucifer’ and ‘Luca’ Top 2021’s Streaming Chart

2021 has been quite a year, to say the least, as the pandemic continued to keep us at home. As such, we had a bit more time on our hands and luckily the various streaming services had plenty of content to keep us busy throughout the year. Of course, there’s always hope that your favorite show of the year might make it to the top of the list. While streaming services still won’t quite tell us how shows and films are performing, Nielsen still conducts its studies to give us an inclination on how the year went.

In 2021, the most-streamed original show was not the extremely popular Squid Game, but actually Lucifer. It switched to Netflix some time ago and now has become their most streamed offering. The Great British Baking Show takes the third spot followed by Virgin River, Bridgerton, You, Cobra Kai, The Crown, and Longmire. It’s not until the tenth spot that a non-Netflix offering joins the ranks with Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Disney+ and Apple TV+ only got one entry each with WandaVision and Ted Lasso.

There’s a very different story when it comes to movies, as eleven of the most viewed cinematic offerings were from Disney+. The list is dominated by Luca, Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon. Netflix’s Red Notice takes the fifth spot and they also nabbed the ninth with Mitchells Vs. The Machines. Marvel Studios also joined the list with Black Widow on the eleventh spot and rounds out the Top 15 with Avengers: Endgame. The performance of Disney+ is a good hint at the fact that family- and child-friendly offerings were the big winners.

Overall, it’s a strong list of shows. There’s always a chance that if we’d ever get a chance to see the true numbers their positions might shift. Nielsen also only uses third-party information that excludes mobile numbers, which could work in specific offerings favor. They only rank TV screens and HBO Max and Peacock are not currently included in the list, whose offerings with Friends and Yellowstone are likely candidates to be in the list. Still, it’s at least a small inclination what 2021 was like and we’ll see what 2022 has in store for us.

Source: Deadline

January 21, 2022
Pixar is “Really Bummed Out” On ‘Turning Red’ Heading to Disney+ Instead of Theaters

There has been a rather discouraging trend of Disney sending Pixar films to Disney+ for free. The prestigious animation studio was one of the leading voices in spearheading our modern understanding of CG-animated filmmaking. Yet, as the pandemic hit, things haven’t been easy for everyone in the industry. Especially with uncertainty if families will visit cinemas as they did before the pandemic started in 2020. As such, Disney made the move to release some of its films on their new streaming service.

Strangely, there still is seemingly no clear strategy moving forward. Only select films were made available through their Premier Access options, where you can purchase the film for a set price. Yet, while their original and Marvel Studios offerings got the special treatment, Pixar’s Soul and Luca didn’t get the same. They were made available for free to push Disney+’s subscription numbers. Turning Red, their next film, was their big return to cinemas but ended up following the same fate. In a new piece by The Hollywood Reporter, they shared a statement by an anonymous Pixar employee on the situation.

Everyone is really bummed, but most of us get it. Families just aren’t going to the movies

They highlight that the company isn’t mad about the decision, but more disappointed. There’s a good chance that Encanto’s low box office numbers were one of the reasons they went down this route, especially. Sing 2, the most recent animated film to release in theaters, also didn’t fare much better if compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Here’s hoping that the current omicron development gets better so that Pixar can make its grand return to cinemas once again.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

January 21, 2022
Marvel Studios Makes a Major Change to The Phase One Timeline

Disney Plus has now added all of Marvel Studios One-Shots to their streaming library, giving fans a chance to relive some of the memorable shorts that once accompanied the home releases of their films. Agent Carter, All Hail the King and more are now streaming on the service and have all been added into the official, chronological viewing order. Interestingly enough, one of the One-Shots has knocked one of Marvel Studios biggest hits out of its place as a bookend to Phase One.

As you can see from the screenshot, the 2012 One-Shot Item 47, which was released on The Avengers Blu-Ray, is now the official end of Phase One. The 12-minute short, which was heavily tied to ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., starred Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford as a couple who, in the wake of the Battle of New York, find a Chitauri weapon and use it to go on a crime spree. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Sitwell and Blake, played by Maximiliano Hernandez and Titus Welliver, respectively, intervene on the couple’s spree and eventually incorporate them into S.H.I.E.L.D.

While the events of the series were never mentioned again and neither Caplan nor Bradford’s characters were ever seen again, the One-Shot, directed by Louis D’Esposito, led directly to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. getting the green light on ABC. Bob Iger, who was Disney’s CEO at the time, gave the go ahead on AoS after watching Item 47 and the series debuted one year later on the network. Of course, Agents Sitwell and Blake continued on in the series and, in Sitwell’s case, the films with Sitwell dying during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Blake pretty much just disappearing.

January 21, 2022
Official Japanese Marvel Site Removed ‘What If…?’ and ‘Secret Invasion’ From 2022 Line-Up

Just last week we reported on the official Japanese Marvel site that included an overview of its 2022 Disney+ and film slate. What surprised us was the inclusion of Secret Invasion and What If…? Season 2, as both were not announced for that year. Especially with their placement, it seemed like we’d have six Disney+ series premiering in just one year. Interestingly enough, the site has been updated and those two series have been removed. Not only that, but they also seemingly adapted the order of release.

When we first reported it, the line-up seemed quite deliberate with Moon Knight ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She-Hulk was then placed after that film’s release, which implied it would also follow in May or June. Now, the order has Ms. Marvel ahead of She-Hulk, but the films are given their own separate location. So, either they accidentally uploaded it in the wrong order, or things have shuffled around. Moon Knight even has its March 30th release date included now, but with Ms. Marvel planned for the summer, She-Hulk might not release until November.

Marvel Studios has been known for their steady output of content and with films has always been ver upfront about when they will release. Disney+ has been a very different experience, as they don’t truly advertise a show’s release until around two months in advance. While no one expects concrete release dates, it’s been strange we haven’t gotten release windows for some of the shows, especially when Ms. Marvel was originally going to be a 2021 release. The pandemic has affected productions quite a bit and could be a factor, but we still know very little about their plans for this year. We’ll have to see if we get more information as the year goes on.

Source: Marvel

January 21, 2022
Disney Working on Live-Action ‘Aristocats’ Film

Disney has been quite obsessed with bringing their many animated projects to live-action. They even made an entirely CG film based on The Lion King, which was still treated as a live-action adaptation due to the photorealism. Yet, they also used real animals for the Disney+ adaptation of Lady and the Tramp It looks like they have set their eyes on another project mostly focused on animals in the form of Aristocats. A new piece has revealed that Will Gluck and Keith Bunin are writing the script for a live-action take on the 1970’s animated film.

The original story was about a family of cats living in Paris that were thrown out of their home by a jealous butler, as they were set to inherit everything from their wealthy owner. With the help of a tomcat, they make their way home and meet some colorful characters along the way. The project is in very early development but there are hints it’ll be closer to Lady and the Tramp rather than a fully animated adaptation like The Lion King.

The original has some questionable characters in it that will definitely be rewritten, but there’s a good story here to revisit and even expand potentially. If they are going for the style that is hinted at, it’ll be impressive for them to get cats to play along to bring the project to life. I am especially curious how they might tackle the musical scenes if they are included at all. Not every live-action adaptation has embraced the musical aspects, but it wouldn’t be the same without “Everyone wants to be a cat” at one point in the film.

Source: Deadline

January 20, 2022
Peter Billingsley Returning for ‘A Christmas Story’ Sequel

Here’s a sequel I am sure no one ever asked for, but it looks like Legendary and Warner Bros. are making a sequel to the Holiday classic, A Christmas Story. Deadline broke the story that Peter Billingsley is also set to return as Ralphie for the sequel, which is creatively titled A Christmas Story Christmas and it will premiere exclusively on HBO Max. They also believe that Julie Hagerty will return to play his mother, but nothing else is known about the rest of the cast.

The film follows Ralphie in the 1970s, who wants to give his children the same magical Christmas that he had years ago. He reconnects with his old childhood friends while also getting over the fact that his old man has passed away. It’s not the first time the story was revisited, as Billingsley was also involved with a Broadway musical version known as A Christmas Story The Musical, which went on to nab three Tony nominations.

Nick Schenk, who is known for his work with Clint Eastwood on films like Cry Macho or Torino, will write the script and is set to executive produce the film. Christmas Chronicle‘s director Clay Kaytis has been attached to direct the legacy sequel. Wild West Picture Show productions will oversee the project with Billingsley and Vince Vaughn set to produce. Legendary’s Cale Boyter and Jay Ashenfelter will oversee the project, which is set to start production in Bulgaria this February.

Source: Deadline

January 20, 2022
Director Matt Reeves Teases ‘The Batman’ as ‘Almost a Horror Movie’

The Batman is about to reintroduce the world to the vastness that is the Caped Crusader’s range of interpretation. We had hyper surrealism with Christopher Nolan‘s take and a gothic look at the series with Tim Burton. Director Matt Reeves will introduce a new introduction that seems to dive deeper into the detective side of the character. However, it seems that we might expect a much darker take on the character with what he is describing as “almost a horror movie, and a thriller” in an interview with MovieMaker. In his full quote, he states:

This idea of a place that is corrupt, and you try to swim against the tide in order to fight against it and make a difference, is quintessential Batman. And at the center of those noir stories is almost always the detective, right? And that’s why he is the world’s greatest detective. And so this story is, in addition to being almost a horror movie, and a thriller, and an action movie, at its core, it’s also very much a detective story. It’s very narrative.
Matt Reeves

It’s been a long-running joke that almost everyone is corrupt in Gotham. Outside of a few good eggs, most everyone falls to the temptation of some kind, may it be the amount of mafioso that live in the city or how many cops take payments. Nolan’s take in The Dark Knight explored that aspect through the eyes of Harvey Dent, but it seems we’ll get a much darker look at Gotham’s corruption and the horrors that are lurking in the dark. The fact that the Riddler is inspired by the Zodiac killer probably should’ve been our first hint that something sinister is heading our way..

Source: MovieMaker via The Wrap

January 20, 2022
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Concept Art Reveals a Sick Doctor Strange

It’s not uncommon that films are rewritten as production continues. Reshoots have become such a mainstay in the industry, as it supports directors to adjust plot points or pacing issues they noticed in the rough cuts. Marvel Studios’ films are famous for going through many different stages, and it seems Spider-Man: No Way Home almost featured a very different meeting between Doctor Strange and Peter Parker.

Artist Sean Hargreaves has published some concept art that has some curious implications about the film’s original plot. Early on, Peter asks for Strange’s help before their views start to head in different directions. Yet, it seems that Strange was going to be sick at some point in the story, and Peter come to visit him as he rests in his chambers. His description reveals that:

Peter talks to a sick Strange as Stranges cloak sits as guard at the foot of the bed. Struck from the final film.

He highlights that this was cut from the film, and it could be a scene after the spell goes wrong. Perhaps the energy he used would’ve weakened the sorcerer. Yet, one could also look at it as a connection to his film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Originally, the multiverse-spanning adventure was going to release first. Perhaps the events of that film weakened him and he ended up bed-bound as shown in the artwork. It’s certainly up for interpretation, but this one piece of concept art could be a hint at a grim fate for the doctor.

Source: Art Station

January 20, 2022