Tag: Movies

New ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Synopsis Teases a Mysterious New Adversary

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is right around the corner. With a trailer already released with Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans know some details about the plot of the movie including the introduction to America Chavez, the return of the Scarlet Witch, and a sinister tone accompanying the first trailer.

Ahead of the movie’s launch on May 6, 2022, Marvel has released a new synopsis for the sequel. The synopsis teases “mystical allies, both old and new” and “mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities.” You can read the full synopsis below:

In Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.

While the movie is only a few short months away, much of it is still shrouded in secrecy. Several leaks have found their way online in various forms but official information has not shown us very much about the conflict or what settings we should expect outside of our MCU Earth we know and love. Considering we are now hearing that we can expect “mind-bending” realities, it feels like we are definitely in for a visual treat. Sam Raimi’s directing should do wonders for this type of story, but we will have to see in May if it pans out.

Source: The Direct

January 29, 2022
Ron Perlman Still Wants ‘Hellboy 3’ To Happen

It has been nearly fourteen years since the release of Guillermo del Toro‘s last Hellboy movie, The Golden Army. In that time, several attempts have been made to continue the franchise with a third installment, but nothing has ever panned out. The series was eventually rebooted in 2019 with Neil Marshall‘s Hellboy, which was far less well-received and seemingly brought the idea of more live-action films to a sudden halt. Despite all of this, and maybe against his own better judgement, del Toro’s former leading man Ron Perlman is remaining all-in on the idea of a Hellboy 3.

In a recent interview with Variety, the Sons of Anarchy star spoke about the potential of returning for another Hellboy project. While he admits he may have aged out of the role, he still thinks a third del Toro film is possible, and he very much still wants it to happen.

Am I eager to do Hellboy 3? No, I’m 71 f—g years old. [But] we owe this to the fans, and we should give it to them because it would be an epic conclusion. So Guillermo, if you’re reading, I’m not done pounding you to get this f—g thing done.
Ron Perlman

If Lionsgate were to bite, it wouldn’t be the first time a franchise returned to it’s original creatives after a failed reboot attempt. Ghostbusters recently tried the same maneuver, with mixed results. However, an “Old Man Hellboy” story may have a better shot at success. David Harbour, who took over the title role from Perlman, has publicly stated his belief that the remake was received poorly because it could never live up to del Toro’s version of the character in audiences’ minds. While the acclaimed director may not be able to make a new Hellboy anytime soon, perhaps the pure fan loyalty will someday help a new project get off the ground.

Source: Variety

January 27, 2022
‘System Shock’ Finds Director in ‘Mortal Kombat’ Writer Greg Russo

Fresh off penning HBO Max’s most successful film, Mortal Kombat, Greg Russo will make the leap to directing. According to Deadline, the aforementioned Russo has been tapped to direct the Binge.com live-action series System Shock. The series will be based on the video game franchise of the same name, which first released in 1994, and has spawned sequels and spin-offs.

Said Russo: “I’m honored to have the opportunity to work alongside the fantastic team at Binge and Nightdive Studios to bring the iconic System Shock franchise to life. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to make my directorial debut, and I finally found it.”

This will be the 4th videogame adaptation for Russo, as he previously helped bring Mortal Kombat, Saints Row, and Space Invaders from the video game to the screen.

Source: Deadline

January 27, 2022
Matt Reeves Shares How Nirvana Inspired ‘The Batman’s Script

There are always some surprising influences on various projects. Sometimes a music cue or even a painting could become the center point of one’s approach to storytelling. In the case of The Batman‘s director Matt Reeves, it seems that his biggest influence was the music by Nirvana. It seems that the songs and lead singer Kurt Cobain became a main point of influence while writing his take on the Caped Crusader, who will be played by Robert Pattinson. He goes on to say that:

Early on, when I was writing, I started listening to Nirvana, and there was something about [Nevermind song] ‘Something in the Way’, which is in the first trailer, which is part of the voice of that character. When I considered, ‘How do you do Bruce Wayne in a way that hasn’t been seen before?’ I started thinking, ‘What if some tragedy happened and this guy becomes so reclusive, we don’t know what he’s doing? Is this guy some kind of wayward, reckless, drug addict?’ And the truth is that he is a kind of drug addict. His drug is his addiction to this drive for revenge. He’s like a Batman Kurt Cobain.
Matt Reeves

As he points out, the song was a highlight of the initial trailer that was revealed during DC FanDome. It set quite a tone, as we got our first true look at the film’s new take of the Dark Knight and its detective noir storytelling. It’ll be interesting to see if we see any of Nirvana’s songs scattered across the film’s now confirmed 3-hour runtime. As such, we get the longest entry in the iconic comic book adaptation with the most unique take on the franchise.

Source: Esquire

January 25, 2022
Ivory Aquino Confirmed as Alysia Yeoh in ‘Batgirl’

Even as cameras are rolling on the upcoming Batgirl solo film in Glasgow, thw cast continues to grow. A ton of set photos have made their way online recently, giving us countless new looks at the set and Batgirl herself. Photos last week revealed that actress Ivory Aquino looked to be a part of the film, as she was seen in many scenes with Leslie Grace. We first reported on these photos and speculated that Aquino could be playing the role of Alysia Yeoh.

Variety has confirmed that Aquino is indeed playing the role of Yeoh, Barbara Gordon’s best friend and roommate. The character was created by Gail Simone and Adrian Syaf, first appearing in Batgirl Volume 4 issue #1. It was first speculated that Yeoh could be playing a role in the film when the project was casting an Asain transgender actress under the name of “Alanna”. It seems like the project could be setting up a strong friendship between the two.

Aquino is best known for her work in When We Rise and Tales of the City. This will be her first role in a comic book film and will also be the first transgender character in the DC Extended Universe.

Batgirl currently has no set release date but is slated to release sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: Variety

January 25, 2022
Sam Raimi Reveals Status of ‘Doctor Strange’s Production and What It’s Like to Work With Marvel Studios

The man who helped begin the superhero movie craze is back, and he’s ready to talk about working with the machine keeping his trend alive. In a recent interview with Variety, acclaimed director Sam Raimi discussed the current status of the latest Marvel project and what it was like to develop a film alongside Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel Studios. The filmmaker has been hard at work on the highly-anticipated sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for a long time now, and had this to say when asked if filming was yet to be completed:

I wish I knew the answer to that question. I think we’re done, but we just cut everything. We’re just starting to test the picture and we’ll find out if there’s anything that’s got to be picked up. If something’s unclear or another improvement I can make in this short amount of time left, I’ll do it. One thing I know about the Marvel team is they won’t stop. They’ll keep pushing it until it’s as close to being great as it could be.
Sam Raimi

He continued to put an emphasis on just how great his experience with the cultural juggernaut has been:

Marvel’s been a great team to work with. I think that was a not-surprising surprise. I’ve been super-supported by the whole Marvel operations, starting at the top with Kevin Feige, and working all the way down to the crews that they work with. [They’re] super professional and have supported me every step of the way.
Sam Raimi

These comments should be thrilling for fans who were afraid Raimi, noted for his signature style, would be creatively stifled by Marvel. His last outing with a comic book hero, 2007’s Spider-Man 3, was famously affected by studio mandates and interference. Here’s hoping the future is brighter for the fan-favorite maestro.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6, 2022.

Source: Variety

January 25, 2022
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Chukwudi Iwuji Teases His “Powerful” and “Complex” Character

It’s James Gunn‘s world and we’re just living in it. The director has been making headlines with one hit project after another, as he directly followed up his work on The Suicide Squad with a spinoff on the character of Peacemaker, as played by John Cena. All that was just the warm-up, as he already jumped straight to directing his third – and likely final – Guardians of the Galaxy film. In it, a familiar face from his latest HBO Max series will make a return, Chukwudi Iwuji.

Iwuji‘s involvement was first confirmed in a photo from the set back in November, and it’s still unclear who exactly he is playing – even if there are quite a few rumors offering a hint at who exactly that might turn out to be. That hasn’t stopped the actor from teasing the role in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, as he believes his character might be “the most complex character” we’ve seen yet in the MCU. His full quote:

Powerful. Extremely powerful. Complex. James and I were talking about it, but he’s certainly one of, if not the most complex character we’ve seen in the freaking Marvel universe. So he’s deeply complex and deeply powerful, and I hope intriguing. I hope I bring that to it
Chukwudi Iwuji

It’s quite something to tease and Gunn is known for his talent of bringing complex characters to life on the silver screen. Iwuji‘s wording of “powerful” would add to the possibility of him playing a villain. Most of the MCU’s villains have been rather one-note, but that has started to change with their latest projects. So, if he is indeed playing one, the tease would add a lot to the franchise’s rogue’s gallery.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

January 24, 2022
Kit Harington’s Black Knight May Return in Mahershala Ali’s ‘Blade’

The end of Eternals finally introduced the MCU to the Ebony Blade. Kit Harington‘s Dane Whitman opened a box to unleash the cursed weapon, but that was not all. He is suddenly greeted by a voice off-screen that was later confirmed to be Mahershala Ali‘s Blade. Of course, it made us wonder what this might mean for the character’s future as the Black Knight and it seems that they may be setting up an appearance in his upcoming solo film.

ComicBook had the chance to sit down with Eternals VFX Supervisor Stephane Ceretti, who revealed that the Ebony Blade will return in the upcoming Blade solo film, as he talks about passing on the work they did so that Martin Lawson, who is taking over a similar role for the upcoming solo film, can build upon that.

The funny thing is my second on the show, which is Martin Lawson my additional supervisor, is actually going to be supervising Blade very soon. So I told him, I said, ‘I’m giving that to you as a gift, use it wisely and make good out of it.’ But I’m sure it’s going to do actually even better.
Stephane Ceretti

It would make sense that they build upon the scene from Eternals, but we also know very little about the plot of the upcoming vampire-hunting film. Perhaps Whitman becomes an unlikely ally that has to help him in stopping a new type of vampire. He would make for a great everyman and actually be involved with the story unlike in his introduction. Of course, there’s always the chance that the blade might make an appearance, but it would seem strange not to include its iconic wielder.

Source: ComicBook

January 24, 2022
High-Quality Images Released for ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Finale

It’s surprising that it took this long before we got any official stills or images from the film featuring all three Spider-Man together. Spider-Man: No Way Home is a powerhouse at the box office, and it’s likely that everyone who wanted to see it, already has. Yet, Sony never offered an official look at its full cast. Hell, we never even got special posters highlighting the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in their respective roles. Luckily, high-quality looks at the final were released as part of an interview with visual effects supervisor Chris Waegner over at before & afters.

Waegner highlights that he has quite the history with the Spider-Man franchise, as he worked on quite a few of them during his tenure at Imageworks. So, he naturally was able to bring that passion and realize each one of the character’s unique aspects to life. They had to rebuild a lot of their assets for the film, as the old assets were no longer viable due to how far technology has come. Plus, Tobey and Andrew aren’t the same age when they previously played the characters, which also became a key factor.

They also had to work on some previous villains making their grand return in the film. In a way, it would seem like modern technology would’ve made work easier on bringing these characters to life once again. A big part is their approach to Sandman, who already was pushing boundaries back during the release of Spider-Man 3. Waegner highlights that they were able to optimize their approach, such as making him feel more like a sand storm if the story or moment required it.

In the interview, he also praised the practical work that was done to support their CG work, as the Liberty island was recreated with a practical set. A lot of the scaffolding featured in the sequence was real and also helped their team to realize their vision, as they worked on the finale. Plus, the set choice offers a lot of reference material to utilize and work from to bring the effects-heavy aspects to life in a much easier way. He does highlight that it was quite the undertaking for their Modeling and Environments team.

Source: befores & afters

January 24, 2022
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Now Passes ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Jurassic World’s Worldwide Box Office

The weekend box office numbers are finally in and as predicted, Sony’s latest release, Spider-Man: No Way Home, has taken the top spot of the domestic box office back and continues to grow even in its sixth weekend. As of now, it has garnered another $14.1M from 3,705 theaters within the domestic market. Now it stands at $721M as the fourth-highest earner in that market. It’s total gross as of now stands at $721M domestically and $970M internationally. So, in total it has now passed The Lion King‘s $1.66B and Jurassic World‘s $1.67B to become the sixth highest-grossing film worldwide.

Scream managed to land on $12.5M, which brought it to a strong $51.3M domestically. It’s quite the success for a legacy franchise that hasn’t had a new entry in some time, as it now stands at $84.9M worldwide. The only other competition was Sing 2 which was far behind at $5.7M, which has now made around $241.1M worldwide. The newcomer Redeeming Love – which you can read our review of here – made around $3.7M in 1,903 theaters but still managed to take the fourth spot. D.J. Caruso‘s film had a stronger following in the South, which is a given with its California Gold Rush backdrop and Christian romance plot.

There was one more new release over the weekend with The King’s Daughter, which didn’t manage to get into the $1M club and fell behind with $700K at the eighth-spot while the top five was rounded out by 20th Century and Disney’s action prequel The King’s Man. The film managed to crack the $100M mark worldwide over the weekend but is still far from what one would expect from the franchise.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

January 23, 2022