What’s next for Marvel Studios? Who’s recently joined the cast of your most anticipated series or film? Where can you find the teasers and trailers? Look no further, true believers. Everything you need to know about the future of the MCU has been collected for you here. Click on each logo to learn what we currently know about the upcoming MCU projects.
It’s strange to think that there was a time when we didn’t know if we’ll see James Gunn direct the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. The director was a major part of the studio’s future before a controversy derailed everyone’s plans. Luckily by 2019, Gunn found his way back but was also quite busy directing his DC film, The Suicide Squad.
So, many of his initial plans have gone through quite a few new directions as Avengers: Endgame was on the horizon and the film ended with Thor joining the Guardians. One thing Gunn knew was that he didn’t want to include the character in his story, but in an interview with the Rolling Stones, he reveals how Taika Waititi saved the vision of his film.
And I didn’t think it was gonna be in there. Endgame came out right after I decided to do Guardians again. So I didn’t have much say in what was in Endgame, and then it came out and then I was like, ‘What the fuck am I gonna do?’ That’s when [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] told me Taika’s gonna do Thor, and we’ll have the Guardians in it. I said, ‘Thank God!’… To be completely honest, Thor was never going to be in this movie. Taika took a bullet for me. Because I was not going to have him in. I was just gonna start up and there’s no Thor.
James Gunn
So, without Thor: Love and Thunder, we might not have the true original vision of Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He had a shot to explore the Guardians a bit (ironic given he was the Internet’s top choice to continue the franchise if Gunn never managed to return) and set them off on their adventure once Thor realized his true mission was to uncover what
Source: Rolling Stones
It’s that time of year – time to cringe at the top cinematic disasters that disappointed us the most in the last 12 months. These are the films that made us want to burn down the movie theatre and never look back. We highly recommend avoiding these at all costs, unless you’re a psychopath with a fiery love for burning money.
Four years after Isla Nublar was destroyed, dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.
Review: The movie is a lifeless corporate excuse for a poorly written nostalgia comeback of the original cast. Filled to the brim with worthless exposition and failed stabs at building ANY emotion. The dialogue is atrocious, the characters are shallow and the plot is boring.
A young street-smart, Nathan Drake and his wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan embark on a dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.
Review: The film adaptation of Uncharted seems like it should be a no-brainer – full of action, adventure, and treasure-hunting. However, the execution of this movie leaves much to be desired. The CGI is unrealistic, the dialogue is uninspired, and the action scenes feel cheap. It’s a shame that this attempt at a movie is now attached to such a loved franchise.
A couple travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
Review: I had high expectations for this film, but it ultimately fell short. While it had a fresh premise, the execution was flawed and the events depicted made no sense. Luckily Anya Taylor Joy and Ralph Fiennes’s performances made this pretentious mess tolerable. Honestly, I was really disappointed by the lack of effort put into the horror aspect of this thing. It was like they were too afraid to go all in and just ended up with a tame and unimpressive result. After almost two hours, it just fell flat and left me feeling underwhelmed.
In the 1930s, three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and an attorney—witness a murder, become suspects themselves and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in North American history.
Review: This film is a mess from start to finish. The plot is confusing and the director’s attempts to address serious themes like racism and fascism are shallow and misguided. The film can’t even decide what genre it wants to be and fails to deliver. The only redeeming factor is the strong performances from the cast that make this movie barely watchable.
A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets.
Review: I don’t know what I was expecting from this film, but it certainly wasn’t a complete disaster. It was like a white-washed live-action of an Isekai anime. Florence Pugh seemed to be the only one trying to salvage this mess, but even her performance couldn’t do shit. The cinematography was probably the only redeeming factor, but it’s not enough to make up for the incoherent plot and completely ridiculous character motivation.
Thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary suspects that his mysteriously reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith is actually the legendary vigilante Samaritan, who was reported dead 20 years ago. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbor out of hiding to save the city from ruin.
Review: While this superhero film may try to present itself as deep and introspective with its themes… the execution is a complete disaster. The storyline is twisty for the sake of being twisty, and the acting is barely tolerable. The cinematography may be well-oriented, but the editing is messy and the visual effects are laughably bad. The dialogue feels like it was taken from 8-mile and the antagonists are one-dimensional and annoying. To top it off, the conclusion is lacking and makes little sense. All in all, this film is a complete mess and a complete waste of Sylvester Stallone‘s talent.
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, though he’s unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
Review: This is just another example that we can’t have nice things, this feels like an insult to what the source material established years ago and a slap to the fans of the Harry Potter franchise. One can only hope that Warner Bros. stops milking the franchise and that JK Rowling stops pretending that she cares about her creation as both parties seem keen to green-light projects that have no care nor love for what they’re part of.
A prisoner in a state-of-the-art penitentiary begins to question the purpose of the emotion-controlling drugs he’s testing for a pharmaceutical genius.
Review: Two hours of pure chaos, filled with poor writing and even more subpar acting. It disappoints me that such a growing and talented actor like Miles Teller would dive head first to be the protagonist in this mess with Chris Hemsworth whose acting has been decaying in recent years by just doing the same character over and over again… at least this time he managed to portray a less annoying version of Thor. This is just a reskin low-budget-looking copycat of Black Mirror.
A wooden puppet embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy.
Review: It’s just another soul-sucking attempt of Disney to rehash the Disney Vault classics to a fresh and younger generation with nightmare-inducing CGI that would make the frozen head of Walt Disney actually cringe.
After his retirement is interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher, a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie, Korg, and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who now inexplicably wields Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Review: Being a big Taika Waititi fan, this movie really broke me. Love and Thunder is not only a clear step down from Thor: Ragnarok but also a painfully mid experience. On paper, this seemed like a good idea but it ended up being a complete mess with some ok moments tossed in. They literally wasted Christian Bale acting skills for no reason.
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These movies left a lot to be desired. However, as we move into the new year, we can only hope for better and more enjoyable films in the future. Happy New Year to all, and here’s to a brighter and more successful 2023 in the world of cinema!
While the title of this article may be the perfect fuel for those calling out Marvel Studios’ use of the green screen, Christian Bale shared his experience on what it’s like working on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder. He famously took on the role of Gorr the God Butcher in the film, and it seems like he had a hard time differentiating between sets early on, especially with this being his first attempt at working with a more green-screen-heavy production.
That’s the first time I’ve done that. I mean, the definition of it is monotony. You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me. Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do. I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next. They kept saying, ‘You’re on Stage Three.’ Well, it’s like, ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.’ ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ I was like, ‘Uh, where?’”
Christian Bale
He also highlights how he struggled to stick to his usual method acting due to the makeup process with his character. It certainly highlights that Bale attempted something new with this production; though he highlighted he had fun with it as well.
He highlights in his statement that other actors have more experience with it and it certainly shows that it was quite an adjustment for Bale. We’ll see if this has made him uncertain about returning to that type of film in the future, or if he might still have enough fun to return one day. Perhaps Gorr has a future in the MCU’s multiverse.
Source: Variety
Thor: Love and Thunder‘s Disney+ release has been recently confirmed for September to celebrate Disney+ Day. For those that like to collect these projects physically, the wait for that release is luckily not too long after. The digital release is set for September 9th with the physical one planned for September 27th. It’ll be made available with on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.
ScreenRant has also shared a first look at the movie’s cover art for the Steelbook available at Best Buy. It’ll feature the poster designs featuring Jane Foster and Thor in their iconic pose from the comics. The interior even includes the yelling goats pulling the chariot in a clever design replicating the boat we see in the Marvel Studios film.
The Blu-ray will include a gag reel and audio commentary from Taika Waititi. There are also three featurettes included by the titles of Hammer-Worthy: Thor and The Mighty Thor, Shaping a Villain, and Another Classic Taika Adventure. There are also four deleted scenes included, such as the team looking for Zeus, two scenes spending more time with Star-Lord and Mantis, as well as a potential alternative sequence of Zeus passing on his weapon to Thor.
It’ll be interesting to see if we get a different side of Zeus in these deleted scenes, but it’s curious they left out some of the confirmed scenes of Gorr’s bloody path of killing all gods. It seems like they aren’t including them so it’s not an option for people considering it as canon given the gruesome fate of some Thor veteran characters.
Source: ScreenRant
While it didn’t have the momentum early on, Thor: Love and Thunder has officially passed the $700M mark worldwide. It’s currently on its way to passing the box office of its predecessor if you exclude its Chinese and Russian box office. The original pulled in $850M when it was released back in 2017 but owed $112M alone to China with Russia making up 23M. So, it would “only” need to pass $715M to pull in a higher box office than its predecessor. Not too far away from its current $704M international cume.
Naturally, many would assume that the influx should be higher, especially with the presumed $250M budget this film is standing on. Still, with a B+ CinemaScore and a more mixed critical reception, it still surprised many when it started picking up momentum. The second and third weekends seemingly had a stronger drop but it was during the week when things would pick up for the fourth Thor entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film won’t be making a massive profit for Marvel Studios as it likely will break even but a fourth entry making as much or even more than its predecessor is also not a common thing in the market. Thor: Love and Thunder proves that Marvel Studios still has a good hold on the market and $700M is a great win for any production nowadays; Top Gun: Maverick is the exception that may be overlooked in the more fragile market we have right now.
As of now, the film is likely to pass the first’s overall box office run and even reach around $750M+. There’s still a chance it could go higher if it legs out even with its 45-day window on the horizon; something that may be facing a change sooner rather than later. Still, the film is not a flop as many would make you believe and it’ll b interesting to see how Black Panther: Wakanda Forever performs later this year.
Source: Twitter, The Numbers
A major talking point coming out of Thor: Love and Thunder was the surprise cameo in the film’s first post-credits scene. In it, actor Brett Goldstein was revealed to have been cast as Zeus’s son, Hercules.
Goldstein is well-liked for his role as Roy Kent in the acclaimed Ted Lasso series. His brief appearance in the credits of the fourth Thor film was likewise well-received by general audiences. In an interview with The Playlist, Goldstein opened up about his feelings about fans’ positive reactions. He stated:
It would be a real bummer if people weren’t interested. Of course, I care. I have to say I was surprised and delighted, as in it seemed to get a real positive response. And that, it’s amazing. I just, I’m not in charge of what they’re doing or what they want to do. And in a way, that was an experience that I hadn’t had for a long time, where I had no involvement in the behind-the-scenes of it. Look, you’re in f**king good hands. They make really good shit. You know what I mean? And Taika Waititi’s fucking brilliant, so it was like, ‘I’m in the best hands possible.’ But, it’s amazing. Who knows if anything will come of it, who knows, but it was a fun thing to do, and I’m pleased that people seem to have enjoyed it… I’m going to eat 30 chickens a day from now on; it will be fine.
Brett Goldstein
While there is no official news on how Goldstein or Hercules will contribute to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the future, there is little doubt that Marvel Studios has plans for the character after the exciting cameo and reveal. Still, the actor stated that “who knows if anything will come of it,” which will continue to stir up rumors about where Hercules might appear next. Goldstein, like many actors and creators in the MCU, may very well be completely in the dark just like the rest of the world. Or, perhaps the actor has already mastered Marvel Studios’ secrecy in interviews.
Thor: Love and Thunder is currently playing in theaters.
Source: The Playlist
While Thor: Love and Thunder revealed several storylines that could be further explored in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one was particularly on display in the film’s first tag. In it, Ted Lasso standout actor Brett Goldstein appeared teasingly as the Greek God and son of Zeus, Hercules. In an interview with The Playlist, the actor opened up about how his casting was almost as much of a surprise to him as his reveal was for the audience:
“No, I didn’t know what it was for. I was told that some Marvel people would like to have a Zoom with you, and I met with them, and it was just so surreal because…it was literally out of the blue one night, and I was very busy, and it was like, ‘Can you make time for a Zoom?’ ‘Yes, sure.’ And they go on Zoom, and they just told me what you see in the film, which is the sort of opened with, ‘So Russell Crowe is Zeus,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, OK, go on.’ And blah, blah, blah. And then they turn around, and they reveal, ‘It’s Hercules; it’s you.’ And I went, ‘What?’ Just like, ‘Are you serious? Are you f**king with me? Is this a wind-up?’ So yeah, it was as surprising to me as I think it has been to other people.”
Brett Goldstein
Goldstein went on to reveal that he had to shoot his cameo two weeks after he was offered the part. While that could certainly be a rush for anyone, the actor was particularly concerned about how little time he had to get in shape for the role of a Greek God. He said:
“…when I spoke to Taika, I said, ‘You know I’m basically like a skinny comedian?’ I said, ‘When is this filming?’ It was like in two weeks, and I was like, ‘I mean, I’ll do my best, but two weeks feels …’ I said, ‘He doesn’t have to be as big as Thor, does he?’ And look, on the day, I mean, I’m doing 400 pushups that day. I was fit to explode. I did the best I could on that day, yeah.”
Brett Goldstein
Thor: Love and Thunder is currently playing in theaters.
Source: The Playlist
We were all quite excited for the arrival of Thor: Love and Thunder, as it would expand our understanding of godhood in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While our visit to Omnipotence City was relatively brief, it did feature a host of interesting characters scattered throughout a sequence.
Now, the most significant addition was that we could briefly see what looks to be Bastet in the foreground. While she sadly didn’t receive any lines, a new batch of behind-the-scenes photos shared by Luca Vannella offers the best look yet at her design from the film, which highlights her Egyptian background.
It’s still bizarre they’d include such a monumental character of Balck Panther’s mythology and not even explore it in the story. We got a few short moments, and there’s some great inclusion of New Zealand deities, but we sadly didn’t quite get to explore the other pantheons throughout, even if Moon Knight already had us covered there.
Perhaps they are setting up some more exploration of godhood that will be forced to get involved once a certain Conqueror potentially gets his way. We’re still in the set-up phase and there is a lot to be excited about. So, we’ll see where it’s all heading with SDCC heading our way starting today.
Source: Twitter
The numbers are in and Thor: Love and Thunder has faced quite the harsh drop going into its second weekend. Reports have stated that the latest Marvel film has plunged by around 80% after a bombastic opening last weekend. The domestic box office is showing its fangs with pretty much every production with one exception, Top Gun: Maverick, has faced similar drops. Even Minions: The Rise of Gru faced a harsh 70% drop on its second Friday.
This marks the second highest drop for any Marvel film, as it’s around 2% ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which fell from a $91M Friday. The current drop is closer to what Black Widow faced when it was released last year on June 29th and November’s Eternals (75%). So, the film is likely to wrap up around $45M and pull in $233M in its first ten days.
Any other franchise, as Forbes’ Scott Mendelsohn points out, this would be a strong second weekend but it is simply a record for a Marvel production. The question is if it’ll avoid the $100M loser club after opening to $144M. It’ll likely pass $500M worldwide by tomorrow but with some key markets also slowing down, anything can go for now. Even Jurassic World: Dominion saw a 73% drop and it had an A- CinemaScore while critics weren’t thrilled with the project.
Is this the “end of Marvel” as many like to call any non-record breaking box office opening for their films? Not really, as it continues a trend we’re still seeing throughout the pandemic with bigger blockbusters. $13.8M is lower than Minions’ second weekend at $14.43M but that isn’t an indicator. Frontloading has become a new norm and the B+ Cinemascore simply points to people enjoying their first watch, but in no hurry to do so again.
What works in its favor is that there’s no real competition moving forward outside of late July’s DC League of Super-Pets which likely is going to focus on a much younger crowd. Even with a 1.35x multiplier, the film would still end up around $315M which is around the same as Thor: Ragnarok. The only risk factor is the Disney+ release but Doctor Strange didn’t slow down too much still pulling in $34M after its release. That film faced the same CinemaScore and 45 digital release window but still managed to leg out to $950M.
Most films in this era for Marvel have had harsh drops and the pandemic is still an issue for some. So, people are much more selective about what film they’ll watch or spend money on. Korea has seen Top Gun take back the top spot where it’s been performing exceptionally well like in many other markets. While the film won’t pass The Batman at this rate, it’s a good sign such different projects can pull in very different numbers.
Source: Forbes, Forbes (Minions), The Numbers
