Tag: Movies

Warner Bros. Officially Adds ‘Beetlejuice 2’ to Its Slate, Justin Theroux Joins Cast

Michael Keaton can scratch another iconic role off his list of parts to play again 30+ years later. According to THR’s Aaron Couch, Warner Bros. has finally put the sequel to the 1988 classic Beetlejuice on the slate.

Rumors of a Beetlejuice sequel have persisted for years but now the pieces are in place to bring the Ghost with the Most back to the big screen. In early 2022, it was reported that Keaton would reprise the role and that he’d be joined in his return by Winona Ryder. More recently, THR reported that director Tim Burton was on board to return to direct the sequel and that Jenna Ortega (Scream, Wednesday) was circling a major role believed to be the daughter of Ryder’s Lydia and Justin Theroux joined the cast in an unknown role.

It seems now WB has all the pieces in place and are ready to move into production immediately. THR reports that the powers that be at WB have put Beetlejuice 2 on their theatrical slate, slotting it in for a September 6, 2024 release while Deadline reports the project will begin principal photography on May 10th.

Beetlejuice marks the second iconic 1980s role that Keaton has now revived. The actor will once again fill the dual roles of Bruce Wayne and Batman in this Summer’s The Flash. All we can do now is hold out hope that he’ll pull out the house flannel and reprise the role of Jack in a Mr. Mom sequel.

Sources: THR, Deadline

May 9, 2023
James Gunn Reveals Another Character Set to Appear in ‘Superman: Legacy’

In many ways, James Gunn‘s Superman: Legacy is sounding more and more like a throwback. Though it is expected to be set in the modern continuity of the all-new, all-different DCU, Gunn has made it clear that the film, which DC Studios co-chair Peter Safran said will launch the new DCU, will explore some “old-fashioned” values and will see a Superman who stands for truth, justice and the American way. It’s an interesting challenge for Gunn because the perception that Superman represents a bygone era has made it tough for modern writers to crack new stories that resonate with modern readers; however, a pattern is emerging that might give some insight into how Gunn plans to take on that challenge.

Part of keeping the old-fashioned spirit of Superman alive might be surrounding him with other old-fashioned characters, making Kal-El feel a bit less like a fish out of water. To that end, Gunn has already confirmed that Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen, is set to appear in his new Superman film. Olsen was a fixture in the comics and in the late 1970s/early 1980s Superman films played by Marc McClure. That Olsen came complete with an innocent “Aw shucks, Mr. Kent” persona that was in stark contrast to the CIA assassin version of the character that briefly appeared in the Snyderverse. It seems far more likely that Gunn’s version of the character would be in line with the original interpretation of the character, helping establish a more old-fashioned feel around Superman.

Along those old-fashioned lines, it sounds as though James Gunn is set to drop another one of Superman’s friends in Superman: Legacy; in fact, it sounds like it’ll be (Super)man’s best friend: Krypto the Superdog! While promoting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with Chris Pratt, Gunn jokingly said he’d cast Pratt as the on-set reference for Krypto. When the interviewer asked if he had just gotten a scoop about Krypto’s appearance in the film, Gunn confirmed that he did!

https://twitter.com/DCUWORLD/status/1655373029495406595?s=20

When Warners was courting Gunn, the studio gave him his pick of properties, including Superman. Though Gunn never got far enough along to seriously consider tackling a Superman movie, the filmmaker did take a shine to the Man of Steel’s superpowered dog Krypto during his comics research — which makes sense for a man who turned a talking raccoon into one of Marvel’s most popular big screen characters.
THR Heat Vision, 2019

Gunn has always been a fan of Krypto and, dating back to when he first started work at DC has explored using the character in a project. Back in 2021, we erroneously reported that Gunn was developing a Krypto project for Warner Bros but Gunn’s interest in the character has clearly not waned. Adding Krypto to the mix seems to further ground the story of Superman: Legacy in those old-fashioned values Safran talked bout. A man’s best friend. A boy and his dog. However you put it, there’s a certain sentimentality to the idea of Superman having a canine sidekick with him on his new adventure.

Superman: Legacy is currently set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.

May 8, 2023
As ‘Blade’ Production Pauses, Rumors about the Film Begin to Fly

Marvel Studios Mahershala Ali-led Blade reboot has had the most turbulent pre-production periods in the studio’s 15+ year history. After being announced at SDCC ’19, the film has seen multiple changes in its creative team cause production delays that set the film back well over a year. Just when it looked like they’d buttoned things up and were ready for cameras to roll, the WGA strike forced the production to go on hold. It seems all but certain now that the film will see yet another new release date but as fans wait on the next bit of news about the film, some interesting rumors have surfaced.

In the wake of the news of the film’s indefinite production delay, insider Daniel RPK has shared a good deal of information about the film’s new script and its cast. To start, it seems that over the course of rewrites on that film, actor Aaron Pierre‘s character, who was set to be the villain of the piece, was removed entirely. While there is no word on who Pierre was set to play, the film’s new villain is sire to generate some social media buzz.

It seems that rising scream queen Mia Goth, who only recently joined the film has been cast as Lilith. Interestingly enough, there are two villainous Lilith’s in the pages of Marvel Comics and it’s not readily clear which of those Goth will be playing. While one of the two is the daughter of Dracula and makes the most sense for a vampire film, the other Lilith is known as the Mother of Demons and would provide a much more nefarious threat…and plant a seed for a potential Midnight Sons crossover.

According to RPK, Goth won’t be the only antagonist in the film. When he was cast,any fans assumed that star Delroy Lindo was on board to play Blade ally and mentor Jamal Afari. It looks like the role of Afari will be filled by Saul Williams while Lindo is set to play Deacon Frost, the vampire who bit Blade’s mother while she was pregnant with him. The unique circumstances led to Blade’s unique hybrid Daywalker physiology.

Given the uncertainty around when the film could begin production, it may be some time before any more information about the film comes to light. At this point, it seems all but certain that the project will find itself released in 2025, 6 years after it was first announced.

May 7, 2023
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Introduces [SPOILER] into the MCU

If you continue reading only do so at your own risk as some major story elements will be discussed in this article.

At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we meet a new group of Guardians that are all under the leadership of Rocket Raccoon. After facing his experiences and past with the High Evolutionary, he embraces who he is and also takes over from Star-Lord, who has returned to Earth and spent some time with the family he believed he had lost all the way back in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film.

Among the members of this team are some familiar faces with an even bigger Groot, Kraglin, and Cosmo. Though, there are two new members with Adam Warlock joining after his encounter with the team throughout the third film. The biggest reveal is the inclusion of a small girl that was among the group of High Evolutionary’s next creations.

Surprisingly, the film doesn’t really say her name but subtitles reveal that she is, in fact, Phyla-Vell. It’s quite a departure from her comic origins, as she was the daughter of the original Captain Marvel and an Eternal. To be fair, she wasn’t conceived in a normal matter but rather the Eternal Elysius took some of his matter after he died from cancer and impregnated herself.

The first person born from this unusual creation was Genis-Vell, who would take on the Captain Marvel mantel. Though, after he lost his mind and created a new universe, Elysius redid the process and gave birth to Phyla-Vell and would also take over the title of Captain Marvel. She would eventually take on the mantle of Quasar when she joins the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comic event Annihilation.

So, the version we are introduced to here is quite a bit different. She’s part of a race created by the High Evolutionary as the “perfect lifeform” that he was going to use to re-populate a new planet. She doesn’t have any connections to Annette Benning’s Mar-Vell but there’s a chance her DNA could’ve played a role in this character’s creation. It’s also unclear if she has the powers from the comics, as there’s no mention of it.

Phyla seemingly has endless stamina when compared to a normal human and she is part of a bigger group of children that have the same origin. Also, there’s some uncertainty if the Guardians will actually return in the future given how the film simply states that Star-Lord will return. Rocket’s new group may as well do their thing in the galaxy but we don’t see them anytime in the near future.

It’s a shame if this is our introduction to such an important cosmic character alongside Adam Warlock, but we’ll have to wait a bit until we find out what exactly the future has in store. Given that her race is genetically created, there’s a good chance that she will grow into adulthood just as fast as Adam did. They might have a sibling-like rivalry that would be a fun dynamic if we see more of them moving forward. For now, it’s a great little Easter egg for comic fans knowing the character now exists in the universe.

May 7, 2023
‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Dances Up a $114M Opening Weekend, Dominates Internationally

It looks like Marvel Studios is facing a rather curious development with the latest installment of its Marvel Cinematic Universe. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is expected to end the weekend with around $114M domestically, which is slightly higher than the predictions going into the weekend and lands it a bit below the hoped-for $120M by Disney. Though that should not be a mark of end times, as its biggest challenge lies ahead with the second weekend.

Still, as pointed out by movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research David A. Gross “for superheroes, average is in the stratosphere” with Marvel Studios opening above $100M even with some believing a tepid response after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The film did open below Vol. 2’s powerful $146M but ahead of the first’s overall box office. There’s also a chance that the waiting period for this loosely tied Marvel film ending a trilogy after six years just lost a bit of its momentum alongside an overall tepid year besides the surprise Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Speaking of, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 did manage to dethrone the plumber from his throne to a still impressive second spot with $18.6M. Sony’s romantic comedy Love Again, however, didn’t bring in enough momentum with a B CinemaScore, 13% on RottenTomatoes at a rather tiny $2.4M opening weekend. The film only costs $9M but it still would require some momentum to recuperate its costs. Evil Dead Rise has been pulling quite some numbers as well, as it already stands at $110M globally which is quite bloody great for a $15M budgeted film. Horror still remains the low-budget, high-earners they’ve always been.

It should be noted that while the domestic box office is a bit behind, globally the Guardians 3 film is doing some impressive numbers. It opened to $168M in 52 markets and now stands at $282M. China has generally been quite behind with any Hollywood production (which means comparisons to previous box office records also need to be kept in mind) but had an actually strong $28M start and very strong word-of-mouth.

That’s kind of what Marvel Studios’ biggest hope should be. A soft opening is one thing but given Ant-Man 3 didn’t manage to pass $500M. Still, pulling in $465M is something many others still dream of as other big releases like Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and sadly Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves barely made their production budget back. Maybe it’s time to talk less about superhero fatigue and rather about blockbuster fatigue.

Overall, Marvel’s latest still beat its global expectations with the uncertainty in the Asian market since last year, as China and Korea have kind of backed off especially as Marvel embraced science-fiction with its latest projects; something not too keen in those markets. The film is 70% ahead of the first and pretty much on par with Vol. 2. If you take out China it’s even ahead by 13%, which highlights the difficulties of post-COVID box office discussions.

It’s crazy to think that a “tepid” box office opening for a Guardians of the Galaxy film is still the 50th highest opening globally of all time. Hell, it’s also the 18th title to do so in May. This does mark the lowest summer opening in some time but Deadline points out that this is actually a more realistic showcase of Guardians‘ box office prowess and Vol. 2 simply had a bit more momentum going into it with appearances in other Marvel movies. Perhaps the lesson is to once again tease future releases rather than an unknown future on the horizon for Marvel.

Ant-Man was also quite inflated with the arrival of Kang the Conqueror which also gave it a much bigger opening than it probably would’ve had outside of the last two releasing post-Avengers films carrying over that momentum. Guardians didn’t introduce anything new and as a trilogy “ender” it’s also going to speak to its core audience more than newcomers. Overall though, the summer is looking at a $100M average opening so this might not just be Marvel but rather a showcase of so many films releasing after a long time, people might be more selective. All Guardians 3 needs now are strong legs and to beat what has happened to the franchise post Avengers: Endgame to make its $250M budget profitable.

Source: Variety, Deadline

May 7, 2023
‘Superman Legacy’ to Feature Someone from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Cast

James Gunn has always had a knack for keeping secrets on his various projects and outright even denying any claims made that he can easily debunk. As the new CEO of DC Studios, it creates an opportunity. Yet, in a short AMA on Twitter, he has given some the opportunity to ask a question he’ll answer with yes or no. While most focused on his latest release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 given he restricted it to that topic, someone asked if any of the cast members might appear in his next DC project.

Surprisingly, Gunn actually did confirm that “Yes.” someone from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise will appear in Superman Legacy. Of course, he hasn’t exactly said who it will be and what kind of role they’ll have, but it’s great to know that some of his usual faces will return one way or another. We already saw them in The Suicide Squad, where his brother Sean Gunn played the role of Weasel and will continue to do so in Creature Commando.

Though, there’s also a good chance that he will include some of his usual cast members in one form or another. Nathan Fillion has appeared in all three Guardians films in a cameo or small role. He loves casting his close friend Michael Rooker in roles, who is also very likely to potentially appear. At the end of the day, we could also just see his brother Sean Gunn have some kind of role in bringing another CG creation to life. There’s ag good list of “definitely back” actors that would be listed that would fit the bill.

Source: Twitter

May 6, 2023
Cinemascore Reveals ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Hit the Mark with Audiences

As early reviews of MCU films continue to feel increasingly unbiased, word of mouth from opening weekend screenings has seemed to become more valuable than ever. Simply put, folks who are unsure if they’ll see a film or not are waiting for audience reactions before heading to a theater. In the case of Marvel Studios first Phase 5 release, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, less than enthusiastic word of mouth quickly diminished the film’s opening weekend momentum leading to a precipitous second weekend drop. After early reviews for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the latest installment of the studio’s Multiverse Saga, added to some pre-existing doubt about the film’s opening weekend performance it seems even more people were waiting to hear what audiences had to say about the film before deciding to take in a showing. Now they have the answer they’ve been waiting for.

More than one review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (including our own) has indicated that the film is a return to form for Marvel Studios and it would seem opening night audiences agreed. Cinemascore, which polls opening night audiences as they exit the theater, has revealed that the Guardians farewell flick resonated strongly with fans and scored an A.

With an “A”, Vol. 3 joins the two previous Guardians of the Galaxy films in earning the high rating. It also joins Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the only films in the Multiverse Saga to be scored an “A” (Spider-Man: No Way Home earned the elite “A+” Cinemascore).

With Vol. 3 currently tracking for somewhere in the ballpark of a $120M opening weekend, it’ll be worth following how the positive word of mouth impacts the second weekend. There’s no immediate box office challenger to Guardians and while there’s always a second weekend drop off, the studio will hope to avoid the massive 69% drop suffered by Quantumania.

Source: Twitter

May 6, 2023
Blade Production Delayed Indefinitely Due to Writers Strike

The WGA strike is ongoing and an essential milestone to ensure the industry’s future. It naturally was going to hit quite a few productions, especially going by how the TV landscape was shaped the last time it happened. Marvel Studios is famous for experimenting and trying out different elements while filming, which relies heavily on the writer being present on set and working alongside the creatives to bring the project to life. So, it’s no surprise that Marvel Studios’ Blade which was set to start production next month is put on hold indefinitely.

As of now, this is likely the first tentpole release affected by the strike and it’s good to see Marvel Studios hold back rather than force a production. Cast and crew members have seemingly been notified this afternoon and the pre-production will be shut down. Nic Pizzolatto of True Detective fame joined but an insider stated “time simply ran out” before they could get the camera rolling. They also highlight that production will not start until the strike is over, which could take months and once again postpone the release.

There’s no word if the other productions will be hit in the same way, but for now, it does seem likely they’ll be gearing down some of the projects due to the writer’s strike. Marvel Studios is likely not going to say anything about it but the Disney+ releases might slow down productions as they also require a writer on set, but there’s no word as of now. The only film production likely to finish is Captain America: New World Order. Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four are seemingly going to get pushed back as a result.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

May 5, 2023
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Opens with Franchise Record Thursday

Marvel Studios next big thing kicked off its theatrical run with the same Thursday previews box office take as its last big thing. According to THR, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opened to $17.5M on Thursday, matching the preview night take of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Quantumania went on to a franchise-best opening weekend before quickly losing momentum, something Marvel Studios is hoping not to see happen with Vol. 3.

Early forecasts for Vol. 3‘s opening weekend box office have it trending at or below the opening of its 2017 predecessor, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and the $17.5M previews number would seem to indicate that might be the case. Not only does the $17.5 match Quantumania, but it also outdoes the $17M Thursday previews take Vol. 2 had 6 years ago. And while that number is on par with Avatar: The Way of Water‘s Thursday and a top 40 all-time Thursday value, it seems to indicate some hesitancy on the part of audiences to head out to see another Marvel Studios film.

All three of Marvel Studios’ 2022 theatrical releases opened far stronger than Quantumania and now Vol. 3. Sam Raimi‘s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took in more than double on its first Thursday with $36M, Thor: Love and Thunder saw $29M in receipts on its opening Thursday and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever too in $28M. Unlike Quantumania, those three films held a strong at the box office for weeks, something Disney is hopeful will happen with Vol. 3. The new film won’t see much competition at the box office and it does seem that it’s generating a little more positive word of mouth than Quantumania which means while it might not open to a huge number, it could have legs and ultimately end up with a satisfactory cumulative box office take.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing.

Source: THR

May 5, 2023
New Promo Art for ‘The Marvels’ Showcases Zawe Ashton’s Villain, Flerken Army

Marvel Studios Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, was originally slated for a July release before moving to November but the Marvel marketing machine was already hard at work behind the scenes before the move. As such, fans have already been treated to a teaser trailer for the Phase 5 film and now, some brand-new promo materials have made their way online.

The promo art, which was first shared on Instagram by Ironman.TW and then on Twitter through the Captain Marvel News account, not only shows off the film’s three leads but also gives a great look at Zawe Ashton‘s villainous Kree leader Dar-Benn.

Also of note, is the confirmation of something that fans have been buzzing about since the teaser trailer first aired. During a scene set on the planet Aldana, several cats can be seen running around and the new concept art seems to confirm that they are all indeed Flerkens, just like Goose!

The presence of what’s essentially a Flerken army should provide Carol, Monica and Kamala with some formidable allies in their fight against Dar-Benn and the Kree. The release of The Marvels is just a little over six months away which means fans can expect another trailer and a lot more promotional material to make its way online ahead of November 10th.

Source: Twitter

May 5, 2023