When Marvel Studios announced the third entry of the Ant-Man and the Wasp franchise, we assumed it would see the return of the original cast. Yet, the moment Kang the Conqueror joined as its main antagonist, it changed everything. It opened up the question if minor characters would get included or if the story takes a very unique direction moving forward. Well, Judy Greer, who plays Scott Lang’s ex-wife, confirmed she isn’t involved with the film.
In an interview with ScreenRant, she shared her excitement to potentially join Quantumania. She hasn’t been contacted to join the production, which normally you would assume they’d make any dealings ahead of the production start. There’s always a chance they might invite her to film scenes at a later time.
I haven’t been told anything so I guess I’m not in it. I’m actually not, I’m terrible at [keeping secrets]. I always tell people like, ‘Just don’t tell me if you don’t want me to tell everyone.’ No one has contacted me and feel free to print that, that I’m very available and very willing to go.
Judy Greer
The recasting of Cassie Lang is still a big mystery. Kathryn Newton is taking over the role of Emma Fuhrmann, who tackled the role in Avengers: Endgame. If her change is integral to the plot, they might want to also have her mother react to her daughter looking quite different. Of course, there’s still the chance the recasting won’t tie into the story, but it would make for a curious connection to the multiverse.
The image only shares their car forms, but they still offer a good glimpse at the designs they are going for. Bumblebee has seemingly gone through another redesign. It also doesn’t fully match the set photos that we saw, which might hint at him going through another change. The bike does hint at the inclusion of Arcee potentially in the film.
We still haven’t gotten a confirmation of which members of each team will be represented. It does seem like they are focusing on a more grounded story as the showcased Transformers are mainly car-based this time around. There’s always the chance they simply aren’t included in these set photos. There are very likely quite a few mystery additions that Caple Jr. is keeping from fans and this might simply be scratching the surface of what is heading our way once it hits theatres.
Spooky Season is upon us and like everyone else, the Murphys celebrate appropriately by cramming as many horror films into the month of October as possible. While we’re always on the lookout for new ones, there are those that have stood the test of time and are rewatched annually. One such film is 2011’s The Cabin in the Woods. Written by superhero standbys Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon and directed by Goddard and starring Chris Hemsworth (if I recall correctly, it was Hemsworth’s work in this film that made Whedon give him a vote of confidence for the role of Thor), The Cabin in the Woods took what seemed like a derivative and trope-laden slasher film and turned it into something deconstructionist and spectacular. From the 9-to-5 humdrum attitudes of Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford’s characters, Gary and Steve, as they supervise an ancient ritual to the shocking sub-basement of horrors, the film’s recipe of humor and horror make it a classic.
Whedon and Goddard have both gone on the record saying they were asked to do a sequel but neither of them felt that it was worth messing with what’s inarguably a perfect ending that sees the Ancient Ones rise and, presumably, destroy the world. I’m not here to convince those two to make that sequel because I agree that the ending is one that shouldn’t be messed with. However, my annual obsession with revisiting that film led me to believe that while a sequel isn’t in order, there might by some ways the mythology they created and the world they built are worth revisiting in other ways, especially in the age of the cinematic universe.
The Other Failed Rituals
As the film progresses, the audience comes to understand that the fate of the world hinges on the successful completion of the American ritual. The whore, the athlete, the scholar, the fool have to die to placate the Ancient Ones because the rituals in other countries have failed. Gary and Steve’s overconfidence in their abilities as the maestros of the ritual despite their monitors showing failed attempts in Sweden, Argentina and Spain and a desperate situation in Japan lead to some of the film’s funniest moments but also make it clear that there are other supervisors just like them in those countries. The film gives us very little information about the rituals in those areas, but we can glean enough to understand that each one probably has a very different and unique set of rules than the one in the U.S (for example, the Japanese ritual seems to depend on the death of children). If the U.S. ritual follows “cabin in the woods slasher-based” archetypes, the other rituals could follow other horror archetypes (a giant Kaiju-esque creature appears briefly in Argentina). Should Goddard and Whedon be so inspired, they could create films or an anthology in which they could satirize those genres to similar success. Rather than a sequel, it would simply be an exploration of events that took place either just prior to or simultaneously with the original.
The Buckners
The creepy basement in The Cabin in the Woods was full of all sorts of terrifying shit and, as we find out with the characters (why won’t they listen to Marty?!) those tempting artifacts end up being how the characters chose their means of death. In this case, after Dana reads a diary and chants some Latin (does nobody watch Evil Dead?), she brings a family of murderous zombies, the Buckners, to the surface to kill her and her friends. The diary itself is a good start to a Buckners prequel film that could flesh out the backstory of the Zombie Redneck Torture Family that won Maintenance and Ronald the Intern some cash in the ritual betting pool. We know the Buckners have a 100% clearance rate as a zombie family in the yearly Ritual, but seeing the faith-based, sadistic settlers (who may be in part based on the real life psycho serial killing family known as the Bloody Benders who, it is believed, killed at least a dozen people in Kansas in the early 1870s) at play in their hay day has the makings of a terrifying The Hills Have Eyes/Texas Chainsaw Massacre type of film that could spawn its own frightening franchise.
The Ancient Ones
The plot of The Cabin in the Woods revolves around the barely talked about and briefly seen Ancient Ones, a race of giant, god-like beings that once walked and pretty much owned the Earth. They live “below” and are kept satiated by the annual rituals which, as the film tells us, have existed since the beginning of time. Over time the rituals have grown more complex and seem to be more about keeping the Ancient Ones appropriately amused rather than full on the blood of the victims. This one might not make it at the box office, but a series developed around the Ancient Ones and how they acquired their violent appetites might be something people would want to see.
The Excellent Adventures of Gary and Steve
The everyday nature of dynamic and dialogue shared by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford throughout the course of The Cabin in the Woods stands out in stark contrast to the wild events unfolding in the film. The Ritual, to these guys, is not only old hat but it’s how they pay the bills. As they prepare for the day, we see them go through the motions and hear Whitford’s Steve bemoan his wife’s baby-proofing strategy while being completely ignored by Jenkins’ Gary as he fixates on his coffee. A couple potential options present themselves here:
A film revisiting a previous year’s ritual at the cabin. This would allow for us to not only get more of Gary and Steve, but also give another one of the horrors locked away in The Organization’s sub-basement its time to shine except, of course, for the Merman.
A Gary and Steve commentary track that runs with the film but sees the two take tangent after tangent while the shocking events of the film take place.
The Merman
There just aren’t enough Creature From the Black Lagoon-type films out there but it is time that the Merman got his due. As the film draws to an end, Whitford’s Steve learns why the saying “be careful what you wish for” exists as he finally gets to lay eyes on the Merman he’s been longing to have selected to complete the Ritual…right before it kills him and expels his blood through its blow hole. As mentioned above, a film about a prior year’s ritual would present one option to give us more of Merman (we can assume he’s been summoned at least once in the somewhat recent past because Gary seems to have some knowledge of how nightmarish the cleanup is when Merman is done) but Whedon and Goddard could go beyond that and give fans something spectacular at a time and in a place when the Merman would have ruled his domain. If we can have an Aquaman film, we can have a Merman film! Hell, team him up with the unicorn and let’s get nuts.
The Cabin in the Woods is one of modern horror’s most complete and perfect films, so it’s easy to see why the creators wouldn’t tempt fate and mess with that perfection. On the other hand, if it’s satirical exploration of the slasher genre could be applied a decade later to another genre with the same love for the material that was shown here, fans not only of this film, but of horror in general, would be in for a treat.
Here’s an interesting little tidbit. On the website StarNow, which includes information on actors and casting listings for major brands including Netflix and Disney, actress Vivian Tung includes a rather curious tidbit in her credits and experience. In her 2021 list, she highlights that she played a featured extra on the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder film. What stands out is that she’s listed as a Valkyrie. Tessa Thompson‘s Brunnhilde is the last known living member of the elite Asgardian warriors. So, this listing could hint at their return in the upcoming sequel.
There are many ways to bring back the Valkyries. Either we get to explore Brunnhilde’s past that was hinted at before they were killed by Hela, or she reestablished a new generation after taking over New Asgard. She was given the title to rule over the remnants that are living on Earth. So, it wouldn’t be too surprising that under her rule she’d empower young Asgardian women to start a new generation of warriors.
It’s great to dive deep into this part of the MCU’s mythos, as we only got a glimpse of it in Ragnarok. There’s also the fact that they may build upon the reestablishment of the Valkyries through the reintroduction of Jane Foster. In the comics, she ends up becoming a Valkyrie after giving up the mantle of Thor. Perhaps, there’s a future for Natalie Portman‘s character beyond the fourth entry in the franchise as she takes on a new persona. Of course, it’s still speculation and we’ll see what kind of role they might have once the film gets released next May.
It looks like the box office is truly recovering, as current estimates have No Time To Die set to surpass the recent record-breaker, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and potentially be the first film to pass $100M domestically in its opening weekend. The Venom sequel barely inched above the $90M mark, but this is a great sign for later-year releases. The latest James Bond flick managed to surpass international expectations.
Advanced ticket sales are currently on par with the latest major release. The film’s advertising pushed it as the Avengers: Endgame of the 007 franchise. It’ll end Daniel Craig‘s run as the character before someone else takes up the mantle, which was confirmed not to take place anytime before 2022. They utilized this “end of an era” tagline to push the film’s general marketing and it’s certainly paying off. At this point, it also bodes well for future films to do the same.
It’s been a rocky year, it wasn’t until Godzilla vs. Kong that we had some hope for recovery. Once the Delta variant reared its head, things looked a bit more depressing but cinema-only releases have been dominating the box office lately. Shang-Chi was that extra push as it far surpassed early predictions that were kept low due to the pandemic. It even continued to remain at the top spot for four weeks running. At this rate, it’s clear that the box office will continue to slowly rise in numbers. It doesn’t mean we’ll see 2019 numbers again next year, but it’ll certainly be inching closer.
Here’s a curious piece of news, as The Direct has exclusively shared the news that the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film may feature the return of Ultron’s sentry bots in live-action. They do not go into detail if we’ll also see the return of the one controlling them, but it seems to potentially hint at a connection between the film and Disney+’s current What If…? series. They only state it’ll be from one of the universe’s Strange visits, but the natural connection would be with the recent reveal of an Infinity Stone-wielding Ultron who is taking on the Watcher.
The inclusion of Ultron Sentries could be a general short diversion. There’s a chance that the upcoming What If…? finale might tie into the upcoming film. So, it could further develop the franchise’s concept o the multiverse and also opens up the possibility that others appear. There was a rumor that Captain Carter and the corrupted version of Strange may appear in the sequel. So, more elements may manage to find a way into the upcoming film.
Of course, these are still rumors. The concept of the multiverse leaves almost any possible approach. We’ll see what the future has in store, especially if they continue building upon it. There’s a good possibility that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may join in the multiversal fun. The arrival of Kang the Conqueror could lead to another multiversal war. As such, we might see a lot more of Ultron in the future.
Five Nights at Freddy’s was quite the popular game for a while. It currently is preparing for the upcoming PlayStation-exclusive game Security Breach but has been quite silent for some time. There have been some issues with creator Scott Cawthon, as he moved on from the franchise. Yet, he was still involved with the film adaptation. Sadly, it seems that there’s still no hope for it seeing the light of day, as director Chris Columbus has officially exited the project. The reasoning seems to be Cawthon not signing off on the film’s script.
In an interview with Collider, producer Jason Blum confirmed the director left the project, who has been attached since February 2018. He didn’t reveal if they may already have someone new attached to tackle the project, but he did offer some insight into the reasoning why it’s been taking so long to enter some form of production.
We’ve written multiple scripts, and we’ve got where we’re threading a needle, which is doing justice to Five Nights at Freddy’s and making Scott (Cawthon) happy. The only way that we would go about it is giving Scott … I don’t want to do something that Scott doesn’t like. Let me say that a different way. I don’t have the right to do anything Scott doesn’t like. Basically, Scott has kind of like the equivalent of ‘final cut’ and it’s taken longer than I hoped to get the right story.
Jason Blum
Cawthon is very productive of the property. So, it’s understandable he wants to make sure that everything is perfect when tackling the project. Yet, we know they went through ten scripts by this stage, as revealed by him back in November. Yet, he also said they’ll enter production in the spring of 2021 and already signed off on a script. So, something might’ve changed since and creative differences led to Columbus leaving.
Of course, he famously moved away from the franchise after the turbulent production on Justice League after Zack Snyder left the project. We only got teases of his Batsuit from set photos, but never a direct sighting of Affleck. While silent on his exact role, Variety lucked ou stand got a chance to ask him how it was like working on the film. In the interview, he ended up also opening up about how it compares to his previous DC project.
[The Flash] was a really nice way to revisit that as the prior experience had been difficult. This was really lovely. Really fun… I had a great time… I love Ezra and I had a chance to see Jason [Momoa], who’s over there making ‘Aquaman [and the Lost Kingdom].
Ben Affleck
There’s been a lot of hope he can revisit his original Batman pitch before he ended up moving on from the project. While it’s exciting to see Matt Reeves bringing a gothic touch to the series, but there’s always curious about what Affleck‘s version would’ve looked like. A positive experience could interest him in giving it another chance. So, we’ll see if its success may kickstart a separate Batman franchise to exist alongside Reeve‘s adaptation.
The following article contains spoilers on the film’s plot, ending, andpost-credit sequence. If you still haven’t seen the film, only continue at your own risk.
Perhaps the greatest strength of Venom: Let There Be Carnage is its willingness to embrace the absurd. A symbiote makes pancakes, a man licks a spider, and a combination of the two bellows the film’s title before credits roll. It’s pure scripted chaos, mixed with appropriately goofy performances from stars Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson. This is why the film’s choice to not fully embrace its villain is so baffling.
Carnage has long been one of Marvel’s meanest rogues, and that doesn’t change here. The red symbiote is portrayed as giddily sadistic and all-out ill-willed as one would hope. Yet, something about the character feels less imposing than it should. The lack of R-rated violence, which some fans have wondered about since the announcement, is an easy first guess when it comes to pinpointing the problem. Yet, it’s not a loss for blood that throws Carnage out of whack. It’s something much deeper than that, in connection to the film’s central themes. It’s the relationship between Carnage and host buddy Cletus Kasady that truly serves to incapacitate the first live-action adaptation of Venom’s greatest adversary.
It feels ridiculous to say, but Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a relationship drama first and comic book action second. This is not an issue with the movie, which actually uses the love and bond between protagonists Eddie Brock and Venom to its advantage on many occasions. Unfortunately, where the story knows exactly how to play to Eddie and Venom’s strengths, it fails to understand what makes Cletus and Carnage so unique. Whereas the Venom symbiote has spent much of it’s existence bouncing from host to host, viewing itself as a separate entity from the bodies it inhabits, the Carnage symbiote was born to one man and one man alone. Unlike his father, Carnage has never been a “we” guy, and neither has Cletus.
While Carnage’s erratic fighting style and lust for death are a major part of what makes him dangerous, it’s his absolute unified bond with Cletus that truly makes him so terrifying. Their perfect relationship is the chainmail protecting an already pretty-dang-powerful set of armor. In an attempt to make their antagonist more susceptible to defeat, and perhaps even a little more relatable to audiences, the film stripped the character of his hallmark and turned “them” into an emotionally cruel couple. This works to a degree for the movie’s lovesick, abused version of serial killer Kasady, but it certainly weakens the screen presence of a character that should have been among Sony’s biggest bad guys.
The link between Cletus and Carnage could have been used as a dark foil for Eddie and Venom. A sickened, Terminator-esque peek into what a symbiote can do when left unchecked or even urged on, by its host. The Carnage symbiote’s parricidal feelings towards Venom are hinted at but left unexplored, despite the overwhelming potential of balancing that hateful association with the loving parallel Venom finds in Eddie. All of this is thrown to the wayside so that Cletus may have a love interest of his own, acting as a mirrored reflection of Eddie’s own relationships and an easy out for concluding character arcs in the third act.
It’s almost shameful that the film chooses to end Carnage’s story so soon after it begins, with both host and symbiote receiving an unceremonious death at the hands of their progenitor and rival. At the very least, Let There Be Carnage had the potential to serve as a functional origin story for Carnage, with his more threatening aspects set to be fleshed out in a later franchise installment. Nevertheless, the multiversal implications of the film’s post-credits scene offer hope at another shot with Carnage down the line. It’s possible that audiences will one day see the character in all his merciless glory, but until then, we’re left with a take on Carnage that feels like a decent impression at best.
All eyes have been on James Gunn, as he may have kickstarted a new era for DC. The Suicide Squad offered viewers an experience unlike previous entries, and it was only the beginning of his new tenure. While he’ll take a brief pitstop to finalize his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, he’s also already putting the finishing touches on the upcoming HBO Max Peacemaker series. In August, DC President Walter Hamada teased that they may have plans to continue working with the director, but there never was a confirmation he’s already developing something. At least there wasn’t until now.
In a discussion today on Twitter, Gunn chimed in and confirmed that he is working on another DC project in addition to Peacemaker. Of course, he doesn’t give away what project it is exactly, but it’s great to know that once he’s done with the Guardians threequel, he’ll likely jump on whatever project is currently in the pipeline. He’s no stranger to working on multiple projects and we’ll likely get a hint once he’s wrapped up with his next Marvel project.
There were rumors pointing to Idris Elba‘s Bloodsport potentially getting his own series, but the director shot that down rather quickly. He confirmed that it was in no state of development, which means he’s most likely working on something else. Of course, there’s a chance that Gunn is currently still preparing a pitch for his next DC project, as him working on it doesn’t mean it’s entered any form of pre-production. Whatever it may end up being, we’re definitely going to be in for a wild ride.
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