Looks Like Bond 25’s Script Is Getting Help From Killing Eve’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Looks Like Bond 25’s Script Is Getting Help From Killing Eve’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Another chapter of the James Bond franchise is closing soon. Barring some last minute change, the still-to-be-titled Bond 25 will mark Daniel Craig’s last mission as 007, so it goes without saying that this movie will need to stand out and wrap things up with a bang. To improve the likelihood of that happening, Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been recruited to polish Bond 25’s script.

Last September, following the departure of director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge from Bond 25, longtime James Bond franchise contributors Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were brought in to rework the upcoming movie’s script. However, when making a major motion picture, sometimes it becomes necessary for another writer or several to join the proceedings. Scott Z. Burns hopped aboard in February to work on the script, and now Phoebe Waller-Bridge is picking up where he left off.

According to The Observer, Daniel Craig specifically requested for Phoebe Waller-Bridge to bring “her wit and quirkiness” to the Bond 25 screenplay. Craig is reportedly a fan of the other TV series she created, Fleabag (which just concluded its second and final season in the U.K.), and felt that she could do a good job with livening up Bond 25.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has recently been in New York City performing a stage version of Fleabag, and while in the Big Apple, she met with Daniel Craig about polishing the Bond 25 script to add more humor and the kind of “offbeat style of writing” she’s known for. So while the story as a whole doesn’t sound like it’ll be overhauled, tonally Waller-Bridge will be making some adjustments.

This marks the second major cinematic franchise that Phoebe Waller-Bridge gets to contribute to. Last year, she appeared as L3-37, Lando Calrissian’s droid partner in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Waller-Bridge’s other notable credits include The Iron Lady, Goodbye Christoper Robin, Broadchurch and Crashing.

Phoebe-Waller Bridge working on Bond 25 is the latest step in this movie’s long journey to rolling cameras, but assuming the changes Phoebe Waller-Bridge are met with approval, then production should finally begin in a few weeks. Cary Fukanaga of True Detective and Maniac fame was brought in to take over as director from Danny Boyle, who exited the project due to creative differences.

Aside from Daniel Craig reprising James Bond for the fifth and final time, Bond 25 will also see the return of Lea Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann, Ben Whishaw’s Q, Naomie Harris’ Eve Moneypenney and Ralph Fiennes’ Garteth Mallory, who succeeded Judi Dench’s character as M. No new characters have been announced yet, although Rami Malek is being eyed to play the villain.

Originally set for release this November, Bond 25 was pushed back to February 2020 and is now scheduled to hit theaters on April 8, 2020. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress, and don’t forget to look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what’s headed to the silver screen a little sooner.

The Lion King Official Trailer Adds Some Humor To Simba’s Stunning Savanna

The Lion King Official Trailer Adds Some Humor To Simba’s Stunning Savanna

The Lion King is one of the most popular animated movies Disney has made to date. It's almost a foregone conclusion it will be one of the studio's most popular remakes. A brand new trailer for the CGI spectacle is now here, and while it contains a lot of epic moments you'll remember from the original, it also provides us with some laughs, in the form of fan-favorite sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa. Check it out.

The trailer gives us a couple of new voices compared to the last one. Previously, the only voice we heard was James Earl Jones' which, considering he was in the original film, was something of a cheat. Now we hear Chiwetel Ejiofor for the first time as Scar. It's certainly a very different voice than that of Jeremy Irons, but no less menacing. We also get to see, but not hear, other characters like the hyenas, Nala, Zazu, and, of course, Simba himself.

Then, at the end, we hear Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen for the first time, as the voices of Timon and Pumbaa. The pair are performing a chorus of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which I guess means this is our first chance hearing any of the music in The Lion King, even though this probably wasn't the song people were waiting for.

Timon and Pumbaa sang the same song in the original Lion King as well, and seeing what we've seen before is pretty much what this trailer is all about. While some of the dialogue that we hear in the trailer isn't identical to lines from the original, many of the images are. We see Scar telling Simba to run away, and the hyenas chasing him as he does. We see Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa, walking along together in single file profile, one of the most iconic images from the animated classic.

While people certainly have fond memories of the original version, and are going to want to see their favorite parts in the remake, I certainly would like to see a little something different in the remake that will set it apart from the original, not simply have it be a complete retelling of the story as we already know. There's still plenty of space for such things to fit in between the scenes we love, and the classic moments are going to be what draws in a lot of the audience, but it would be nice to see something a little new in the trailer.

Either way, The Lion King is almost destined to be a hit. It will be the third Disney remake of 2019 following the recently released Dumbo and the upcoming Aladdin, but with a movie as popular as this one remake fatigue seems highly unlikely.

The new Lion King arrives in July.

Triple Frontier Was Surprisingly Popular With Female Viewers

Triple Frontier Was Surprisingly Popular With Female Viewers

Looking at the trailer for a film like Netflix’s Triple Frontier, you might think that the film would play best with a more male demographic. The action/drama hybrid has a lot of kinetic action that people would more typically associate with a movie suited for a guy’s night out. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as one of Triple Frontier’s producers, Alex Gartner, clued us into the fact that the film was a surprise hit with its female viewers as well.

During a recent chat with CinemaBlend, Gartner and his Atlas Entertainment colleagues/fellow Triple Frontier producers Charles Roven and Andy Horwitz touched on the film’s reception. And while the film’s impressive reach to women isn’t a total surprise, Alex Gartner further explained why he felt the film did so well with that side of the aisle:

[Triple Frontier] also played incredibly well with women. I mean, it always tested well with women. … I think that the great cast we managed to assemble drew them in, but then they really responded to the movie. I think that’s another positive of having Netflix as our partner and our platform, because I think it reached a lot of people, and maybe people who, based on the genre, might not have been reached as quickly. I found it really personally satisfying.

So not only did the absolute mountain of handsome co-stars like Oscar Isaac and Ben Affleck draw female viewers into Triple Frontier, but according to Gartner, the easy access of the film to Netflix subscribers also helped. That definitely checks out, as the numbers from the film’s first month of release showed that 52 million households took the plunge into money-snatching madness that co-writer/director J.C. Chandor had provided them.

It’s not hard to see why either, as it’s the basic model that makes Netflix originals so successful in the first place. If you already have a subscription to the service and you randomly spot a brand new movie that shows Oscar Isaac leading a group of fellow war vets into a jungle heist of epic proportions, you’re already hearing the platform’s trademark “badump” before you even know you’ve clicked on Triple Frontier’s thumbnail.

That sort of expedience isn’t lost on the Atlas Entertainment gang, as Alex Gartner also expressed as much during this same conversation. In addition to his remarks about having an overwhelmingly positive female audience for Triple Frontier, Gartner also praised Netflix for allowing this sort of lightning fast audience feedback as follows:

It’s really interesting having a movie of scale really supported by Netflix premiere on their service, and I think [producers Charles Roven and Andy Horowitz] also got so much feedback, so quickly. So many people saw it so fast, and that was really really sort of satisfying to get that kind of feedback that quickly, and to have it be like Andy said, really positive feedback.

So while the filmmaking process for a Netflix Original film may not be different from that of a traditional studio release, the response time is certainly accelerated once a film such as this launches. Whether your film is a flop or a hit on Netflix, the word travels fast and the internet never forgets, which is even better in the case of Triple Frontier.

As the public response was quite enthusiastic to the film, particularly in the female demographic, one has to wonder what sort of projects will be inspired by such a surprising scenario. That’s left for the future to decide, but it wouldn’t be surprising to find out that more of the same could be on our way in the near future.

For now, you can catch Triple Frontier, if you haven’t already, by streaming it on Netflix.

Avengers: Endgame Seemingly Confirms Valkyire, More Characters Made It Through The Decimation

Avengers: Endgame Seemingly Confirms Valkyire, More Characters Made It Through The Decimation

While we learned the fate of many of the most important heroes at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a massive place full of characters that we've all come to care about. The last film didn't take the time to show us what happened to all of them, but a collection of new character posters seems to reveal that several characters whose fates were unknown, like Valkyrie, Happy Hogan and Wong appear to have survived Thanos' snap of doom. Here's the new character poster for Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie.

The posters of all the Marvel characters look basically the same. They're all simple headshots of the Marvel hero with the words, "Avenge the Fallen" written across them. However, there is one major difference. Some posters, like the ones for characters we know are alive, like Tony Stark or Nebula, are in full color. Others, for characters we know are dead, like Black Panther or Doctor Strange, are in black and white, as you see here...

If we can safely assume that all characters who get a poster in color are alive, then we can conclude that Valkyrie, Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan, and Wong are all alive, as is Pepper Potts, as their posters are all in color. Since we never saw them fade away or saw them in any scene after the snap had happened, we simply didn't know their fate until now.

Unfortunately, with the good news comes some bad news as well. Letitia Wright's Shuri, who stole the show in Black Panther has been confirmed to be dead by this method, as her poster is in black and white.

Of course, in the case of Valkyrie, one has to wonder if the poster means even more than that. Tessa Thompson's character never appeared in Avengers: Infinity War despite the last place we saw her being the same ship with Thor, Loki, and Hulk. Does the existence of this poster at all mean that Valkyrie will play a role in Avengers: Endgame? Neither Valkyrie nor Happy Hogan had any major role in Infinity War, so one has to wonder why they're getting posters now. The obvious reason is that the characters will matter in the new film. Valkyrie and Happy Hogan save the universe? I'm good with that.

All of our questions will finally be answered, and the fallen will be avenged, April 26.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Has Thoughts About Thanos' 'Powerful Poop' And Endgame Theory

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Has Thoughts About Thanos' 'Powerful Poop' And Endgame Theory

How will the Avengers defeat the all-powerful Thanos in Avengers: Endgame? If you ask the internet, the answer to that question is easy: Ant-Man will shrink down and enter Thanos’ butt, and once inside, he will return to his normal size or, if he wants to maximize the splash zone, expand into Giant-Man, thus exploding the Mad Titan. This viral theory has gained serious traction, to the point that even Josh Brolin has addressed it.

Another person who has addressed the so-called “Thanus Theory” is astrophysicist and person who tears apart science fiction movies, Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The Cosmos host has some hilarious thoughts about the obstacles such a tactic would present for Ant-Man. Neil DeGrasse Tyson said:

First, that’s nasty. Because if Thanos is as powerful and as evil as he is, he’s going to have powerful, evil poop. I would not want to find myself in that environment.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson, perhaps best known for using cold logic and hard science to explain why things in movies wouldn’t work in real life, is here conjecturing about the fecal matter of a fictional alien dictator. Fantastic. He brings up an interesting point too, namely that Thanos is an extra-terrestrial and an ultra-powerful being and venturing inside him could pose some major dangers to Ant-Man.

The Avengers and Ant-Man don’t know exactly how Titanian physiology works, and Thanos especially, as a corrupted and powerful being, may indeed have 'powerful poop.' These are unknown variables, and as Neil DeGrase Tyson said on StarTalk, you don’t want to find yourself in that environment. His comments actually remind me of Armageddon. In that film the heroes too sought to destroy a threat from the inside, describing the asteroid as the “scariest environment imaginable.”

Venturing into Thanos’ butt might turn out to be a suicide mission for Ant-Man. He may be successful, but is his suit built for that? Being exposed to poop that powerful and malicious might be a death sentence, either from a biological standpoint where contact results in an incurable affliction or where the psychological trauma of seeing Thanos’ poop and the inside of his butt is too horrible to comprehend and Ant-Man’s psyche fractures beyond repair as a result of it.

Beyond the potentially fatal nastiness of this theory and strategy, Neil DeGrasse Tyson also believes that it is completely unnecessary and there are easier answers. He went on to say:

Second, why not put something else in there that expands. Why does it have to be your own self?

‘Whatever it takes’ may not need to mean that Ant-Man has to go in to Thanos himself. We have seen that the Pym tech in the films allows the shrinking and expansion of objects in addition to heroes like Ant-Man and the Wasp. So Ant-Man can just use something else to expand in Thanos instead of going in himself. See if he can borrow Stormbreaker from Thor, or maybe that Hello Kitty Pez dispenser from Ant-Man and the Wasp is still available.

Of course, that leaves things to chance, and this dirty job may be something that Ant-Man has to do himself to ensure that it’s done. You can hear all of Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s thoughts on the matter in the video below.

These are just a few of the obstacles Ant-Man could face in order to defeat Thanos. We still don’t know if he has protections in place against such an incursion, and one imagines that if he is aware of it, he can utilize the Space or Reality Stone’s to render the plan useless.

Find out if this theory pans out when Avengers: Endgame opens in theaters on April 26. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of all the biggest movies headed your way this year, and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more sophisticated discussions such as this.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Is Opening Earlier That We Thought, But There's A Catch

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Is Opening Earlier That We Thought, But There's A Catch

Fans of Star Wars and Disney have been waiting to experience the galaxy far, far away for themselves when Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge finally opens at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. We knew the land was coming this year, but you can't book your hotel room without an exact date. Now we have it. At a Walt Disney Investor Meeting this morning Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Galaxy's Edge will open earlier than anticipated, at Walt Disney World on August 29 and at Disneyland May 31. However, not all parts of the land will be up and running on opening day.

Previously, the Disneyland version of the land was set to open in the summer, so Disney is getting more than a month jump on that date. Walt Disney World is doing even better. It was given an opening date of late fall 2019, but now it will be opening before the summer ends. However, the Rise of the Resistance attraction will not be open on day one apparently at either location. It will open later in the year as part of a second phase of the land.

There had not been any discussion of Galaxy's Edge being opened in two phases previously. We fully expected both big E-ticket attractions to be up running when the land opened. However, it sounds like the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run attraction will be ready to go earlier, so it was either let the one ride sit idle while Disney waited for the other, or open with the land with one ride and wait for the other.

There will also be an additional catch at Disneyland. anybody wanting to visit the land between opening day and June 23 will need to make a "no-cost reservation." In order to get a reservation, you need to book a room at one of the three Disneyland hotels.

It isn't necessarily all that shocking that Rise of the Resistance is taking a bit longer. Based on the details revealed last week, the scope of the attraction is just physically massive. You can only work so fast when you have to build full size AT-ATs and realistic hallways inside Star Destroyers.

When phase two is expected to open was not revealed on the investor call. It's possible, even likely, that we could see Rise of the Resistance opening closer to the original Galaxy's Edge opening windows, so sometime this summer at Disneyland and in the fall at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

To get you that much more excited a new teaser with the official dates was also released. Check it out below.

Of course, the biggest downside may be that this means the lines for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run are going to be that much longer on opening day, and every day until Rise of the Resistance opens. With only the one big attraction available, everybody will be waiting for it.

Still, for those people who just want to be there on day one, you now know which day that will be. I'm sure a lot of people are making Disney hotel reservations right now since we finally know which days to make them for. Will you be getting to Galaxy's Edge on day one, or waiting for phase two? Let us know in the poll below.

Palpatine's Return For The Rise Of Skywalker Raises Major Questions

Palpatine's Return For The Rise Of Skywalker Raises Major Questions

At last week’s Star Wars Celebration, we finally got our long-awaited first look at J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX in the form of a teaser trailer. From Rey’s lightsaber acrobatics to the return of Lando Calrissian to the intriguing title, the trailer gave us plenty to discuss, but the moment that made Star Wars fans lose their minds came at the end of the Rise of Skywalker trailer when we heard the laugh of franchise villain and presumed dead Sith Lord, Emperor Palpatine.

It was a hell of a tag to end the trailer on, and just so there's no ambiguity, J.J. Abrams confirmed to Empire's James Dyer that Ian McDiarmid's Emperor Palpatine is in the movie. This is incredibly exciting for a Sequel Trilogy that is arguably in need of a truly fearsome villain after the death of Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Yet while this cackling fan service-y reveal seemed to go a long way towards getting everyone amped for Star Wars again, Emperor Palpatine’s return opens up a whole can of worms (or Exogorth space slugs if you prefer).

Both in-story and on a macro level for the franchise as a whole, Palpatine’s return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker raises major questions that will need to be answered by the time the final credits roll in December. There is a lot to unpack and we may know more as we get closer to the film’s release, but these are some of the most obvious questions that come to mind.

Does Palpatine's Return Diminish The End Of Return Of The Jedi?

Until Disney bought Lucasfilm and announced a new Star Wars trilogy in 2012, 1983’s Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi was presumed to be the chronological end of the franchise. That was fine because that film wraps up the trilogy in a narratively and thematically satisfying way. After years in service to it, Darth Vader rejects the Dark Side and kills Emperor Palpatine. In doing so, he saves the galaxy from the yoke of the Empire and his son Luke from death at the Emperor’s hands. Vader then dies as he was born, as Anakin Skywalker.

There is an argument that no matter what form he returns in, Palpatine’s return in The Rise of Skywalker diminishes that relatively perfect ending. If Darth Sidious still holds some sway in the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker’s redemptive act at the end of Return of the Jedi does not have the same level of consequence. Anakin’s sacrifice still matters, but it does not have the finality that it once did. It is no longer the final victory against that evil, but merely a smaller battle won in an even greater war.

You could say that Vader still saved Luke so that he could one day meet Rey and help her to one day finish Palpatine for good, but it’s not the same. The manner and form of Palpatine’s return will matter a lot as far as how this question will be answered, and the execution must be perfect for this not to feel like a forced return for a villain that already had a great death. If nothing else, the fact that J.J. Abrams consulted with George Lucas about the story is encouraging.

Is He Actually “Alive”?

Just because Ian McDiarmid is definitely in The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t mean that we will see Emperor Palpatine alive and interacting with the Sequel Trilogy characters in the 'present day.' All we've heard is a laugh; we haven't seen him yet. As far as we know, Sith don’t get Force Ghosts, an afterlife trade-off for the spoils they enjoy in the mortal realm. Ian McDiarmid also seemed to indicate that Palpatine is dead, at least to start off the film. Yet there are still ways that he could appear that wouldn’t undo the end of Return of the Jedi.

Emperor Palpatine could still be in the film and play a crucial role even if he isn’t a Force Ghost or resurrected. One possibility is that he could appear in hologram form. If Rey or Kylo came across a Sith Holocron owned by Darth Sidious, Ian McDiarmid’s character could impart knowledge and influence events from beyond the grave. Maybe it’s an arms race between Kylo and a Holocron versus Rey and the Jedi texts. If Palpatine appears via hologram, we would get to see him, but he would still be dead.

Another possibility that is very intriguing is that Palpatine could appear via flashback. The Sequel Trilogy has introduced flashbacks to the Saga and Palpatine flashbacks could provide further insight into this franchise villain. Flashbacks could also be used to answer some of the other questions on this list, like what connections he has to the events taking place in the film’s present.

If He's Alive, How And In What Form?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has a lot of heavy lifting to do to close out this trilogy and the Skywalker Saga as a whole, and if Darth Sidious returns in physical form, that adds significant weight to that load. This Sequel Trilogy has introduced new wrinkles to the mythology, so maybe being a Force Ghost is on the table, and appearing as a hologram would be easy to do, albeit something of a tease. But an actual physical return would require a lot of explanation.

If Palpatine is alive, as our own Mick Joest suspects, there are several possible explanations. In the jettisoned Expanded Universe, Palpatine had clones made of himself as a safeguard against permanent death. The EU is gone, but Lucasfilm has shown a willingness to cherrypick certain elements from it when needed. Another possibility is that his essence went into some Sith artifact after his body was destroyed, and Kylo Ren discovers it and somehow returns him to life.

There is also the Darth Plagueis elephant in the room. Palpatine indicated to Anakin that Plagueis taught his apprentice everything he knew. Palpatine also told Anakin that he didn't know the secret to saving Padmé. This could have been a lie and Palpatine truly did know how to cheat death like his master before him, but misled Anakin because Padmé would have only divided Anakin’s loyalty. Whatever the reason, we need to know how and why he is back and where he has been this whole time.

Was Palpatine’s Return Always The Plan?

We may never know definitively, but based on things that have been said over the years and the ways in which The Last Jedi diverges drastically from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it kind of looks like there was never a definitive and overarching plan for the Sequel Trilogy. So you could be forgiven for thinking that bringing back Sheev Palpatine in Episode IX is a last minute Hail Mary to unite the fanbase and give the Sequel Trilogy the imposing villain (and path to Kylo’s redemption) it has been lacking.

Speaking with Yahoo’s Kevin Polowy at Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy indicated that Palpatine’s return has been in the works for a while, but they hadn’t decided on how exactly to bring him back. In some ways it makes sense; Palpatine was the big bad in the first two trilogies, so why not have this entire saga be about one family’s multigenerational battle against this one great evil. That may be the case, but it definitely makes you wonder why seeds weren’t really planted in Episode VII or Episode VIII.

Maybe J.J. Abrams is doing things in Episode IX that make Darth Sidious’ influence in the previous two films more obvious in hindsight (flashbacks perhaps?), but there is definitely a question about if there will be enough time to make it all work. If it was the plan all along, the execution will determine its effectiveness.

What Is His Relationship To Snoke And Kylo Ren?

If this were Episode VII, Palpatine could come back with far fewer needles to thread, but as it stands, he is returning in a Sequel Trilogy that has been focused on new, seemingly separate villains. It would be a bit strange to have Palpatine return just for one movie, so I expect The Rise of Skywalker to retroactively hint at his presence and influence throughout this trilogy. That means we need to know his relationship to the other Dark Side users we’ve met, namely Snoke and Kylo Ren.

Those two are supposedly not official Sith, but the distinction is a bit unclear. It would make Sidious look weak (and make us lament Snoke’s death) to find out that he was biding his time waiting for Snoke to fall. You havr to think he had some kind of relationship with Snoke. Maybe the late Supreme Leader was a puppet of Palpatine’s, a proxy while the Emperor worked from the shadows and regained his strength.

There is also a theory that Snoke was Palpatine, i.e. a host body ravaged by the power of the Sith Lord. Snoke’s obsession with Kylo Ren’s Skywalker bloodline and desire to make a new Vader certainly had parallels to Palpatine’s desires to turn Luke. As far as the Knights of Ren are concerned, there was a rumor that they were in “The Beyond” (Unknown Regions?) this whole time and there they encountered a new threat. If true, Palpatine’s spirit could have been out there figuring out how to become even more powerful and he finally revealed himself to the Knights of Ren.

How Do The Heroes Kill Him For Good?

With history’s greatest Sith Lord back to threaten the galaxy once more, and with the Skywalker Saga coming to a close, the heroes only have one movie in which to defeat him, and to bring closure to this saga, he must be completely defeated. But the very fact that he is back when we thought him gone means that killing him will prove quite the task though because if he didn’t perish completely after being vaporized at the end of Return of the Jedi, how do the heroes finish him off for good?

If Palpatine is a Force Ghost, we’d have to hope Luke could defeat him in that realm (this seems unlikely). If his spirit is still lingering in the galaxy, yet not able to take physical form, a la Sauron, Rey, Finn and Poe will have to figure out how to eliminate it. And if he is back in a body and knows how to cheat death, perhaps this will be a Horcrux situation where the heroes need to eliminate artifacts that his spirit could retreat into, so that when he meets his match he will be mortal once more.

One possibility is that Rey could get her Samwell Tarly on by turning to ancient texts to try and find answers to defeating an existential threat. Those sacred Jedi books have to come into play somehow. Maybe they contain a chapter titled ‘How to Kill a Sith For Good’ and finding something to do the trick, the film’s MacGuffin, will be one of the movie’s major plot points and the journey the heroes go on together.

Bringing Emperor Palpatine back shows that J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm are really swinging for the fences to unite the fanbase and end the Skywalker Saga with a bang. To that end, it is obvious that a lot of people are excited about Emperor Palpatine’s return, myself included. However, taking a swing this big is no easy thing, it comes with a lot of questions and potential pitfalls, but if they knock it out of the park it could be incredible. If nothing else, we’ve got plenty to speculate about from now until the next trailer.

Let us know your thoughts on these questions and any we didn’t think of in the comments below. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker blasts into theaters on December 20. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see all the movies you can look forward to before then, and for all the latest Star Wars news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

Jordan Peele's Us Has A 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score Ahead Of Opening

Jordan Peele's Us Has A 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score Ahead Of Opening

There are not really any huge new releases in theaters this weekend, with studios giving the MCU’s Captain Marvel a wide berth, but next weekend Jordan Peele is back with Us. The eagerly anticipated sophomore film from the writer-director of Get Out has a lot to live up to after that successful and Oscar-winning film, and signs are good it will do just that. Us has already screened and it is currently sitting at a sterling 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Us opened the 2019 South by Southwest Film Festival last week and immediately the reactions were extremely positive. The movie was trending in the right direction. Full reviews paint a clearer picture, though, and those have proven to be very encouraging that Us is anything but a sophomore slump. The rare and exciting 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes for Us is coming from a healthy 55 reviews to date, with more to come upon the film’s release.

The 100% score is impressive and definitely should get horror fans and film fans in general hyped to see this movie, but the chances that the score stays perfect are not great. Films that maintain a 100% on the Tomatometer with hundreds of reviews counted (like Paddington 2) are exceedingly rare. There's always a contrarian or two for whom a film just does not work, or maybe they just like to watch the world burn.

Even the critically lauded Get Out couldn’t stay perfect, finishing up with a 98% with 347 reviews counted. The often misunderstood and maligned Rotten Tomatoes scores aren’t the be all end all arbiter of a film’s quality. But what we can take from the score for Us as it stands is that those who have seen the movie like it and that’s a positive sign that it will be worth your time as well.

The reviews and early reactions have also teased that unlike Get Out, which was dubbed a "social thriller," Us is a genuinely terrifying horror film. Based on what CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell said about the film, this is a movie you’ll want to steer clear of spoilers for and something you’ll need to watch again once you recover.

The buzz and current perfect Rotten Tomatoes score for the new horror film from the director of Get Out can only help Us, which will be next weekend’s biggest new release. The R-rated Us is tracking at making between $40 million and $45 million opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That’s up a bit from early tracking that had it in the $35-$40 million range. For comparison Get Out opened to $33.3 million.

Us tells the tale of a family contending with their murderous doppelgängers and stars Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, Winson Duke, Evan Alex, and Shahadi Wright Joseph.

Us opens in theaters on March 22. Check out our 2019 release schedule for all the other movies you can look forward to this year.

Avengers: Endgame’s VFX Artists Took A Lot Of Lessons From The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

Avengers: Endgame’s VFX Artists Took A Lot Of Lessons From The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

Weta Digital has been in the digital effects game for over 25 years, and the company’s most recent contribution to the cinematic landscape was in Avengers: Endgame, specifically through the explosive final battle. During my recent interview with Weta visual effects supervisor Matt Aiken, I asked him whether there were any non-Marvel movies Weta had worked on that inspired the work done on Endgame, and he informed me that there were quite a few parallels between the final chapter of the Infinity Saga and what he and his team had done on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Aiken explained:

A bunch of us, myself included, go all the way back to Lord of the Rings at WETA Digital. That had giant battle sequences, predominantly CG battle sequences as well. It was interesting, we really felt like we were back in the territory of Helm’s Deep and the Battle of Pelennor Fields at times on this film, which was fun for a bunch of us who’d worked on those films as well. And we’re using some of the same techniques and software in Lord of the Rings. We’re using MASSIVE, which is the crowd-simulation software that we developed in house at WETA Digital to do those battle scenes for Lord of the Rings to do the crowd simulation work for Endgame as well. It’s a way more developed version of that, but it’s still plenty of the same software.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has delivered some amazing battles over the last 11 years, but for now, Avengers: Endgame’s final conflict ranks as the biggest yet. All the major MCU heroes, from the ones we’d followed along with since the beginning of the movie to those who were dusted in Avengers: Infinity War coming back to life, as well as their armies of allies, fighting the 2014 versions of Thanos and his forces. Who knows if/when we’ll ever see a clash like this again in the MCU.

While a battle of that scale is novel for the superhero franchise, for Matt Aiken and his team, it was familiar territory for them, because even though it’s been nearly two decades since the Lord of the Rings trilogy launched, they were using the same software to create these large crowds back then as they did for Avengers: Endgame in the last year or so, albeit with many improvements.

However, the trick with creating these kind of fights isn’t just plopping large crowds onto a battlefield; it’s also ensuring that the combatants can stand out amidst all the action. What’s the point watching two sides duke it out if everyone’s actions look the same? That would be boring. Matt Aiken and his Weta team figured that out during their time on Lord of the Rings and incorporated it into Avengers: Endgame. As Aiken put it:

And then things we learned from Lord of the Rings that we were able to bring to bear here as well. The one thing we always like to do is when we have these big battle scenes is not to just treat everybody the same, so in Endgame, we’ve got multiple different flavors of army on both sides, both Thanos’ side and our heroes’ side. We’ve got Wakandans, Asgardians, Ravagers, sorcerers on the heroes’ side, and we’ve got Chitauri, Outriders, Sakaarans, the Black Order on Thanos’ side. And we want to preserve the individual fighting styles for each of these sub-armies, if you like, so that when we have a clash, we can tell if it’s a bunch of Outriders dealing to some sorcerers, or maybe we’ve got some Wakandans who are able to take on a whole lot of Chitauri.

The MCU and Middle-Earths sagas are incredibly different from one another, but when it comes to VFX work, as Matt Aiken laid out, a lot of the same methods were applied to both franchises. Given technological advancement, obviously these methods were more refined for Avengers: Endgame, but overall, it’s like the old saying goes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

While Weta Digital handled VFX for all the Lord of the Rings movie and the subsequent Hobbit trilogy that followed a decade later, Avengers: Endgame marked just the fifth MCU movie the company worked on, the previous ones being The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War. Given what Weta pulled off in all those movies, Endgame especially, I suspect Marvel Studios will continue relying on its services for future installments.

Avengers: Endgame’s final battle definitely gave viewers a lot of moving pieces keep track of, from Captain America finally wielding Mjolnir to the women of Marvel coming together to transport the Infinity Gauntlet to Scott Lang’s van. Even with the good guys getting that surge of reinforcements, Thanos nearly succeeded in destroying the universe and replacing it with a new one, but Tony Stark managed to swipe the Infinity Stones and channel their power to turn all the Mad Titan and his minions to dust, though it came at the cost of his own life.

As for the Lord of the Rings franchise, obviously its time on the big screen has come and gone, but the Middle-Earth mythology will soon be explored on the small screen. Amazon has a Lord of the Rings TV series in the works, although instead of just adapting the original novels again, it will tell new stories set before The Fellowship of the Ring. Given that Weta primarily works on movies, as well as Amazon probably wanted its series to look different from the movies, it’s unlikely the New Zealand-based company will be brought in to work on this show, but I suppose anything is possible.

Avengers: Endgame is still playing in theaters, so be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of the movie and stay tuned for more coverage on it. If you’re curious about what the MCU has coming up, check out our Marvel movies guide. As for the Lord of the Rings series, it doesn’t have an official premiere date, although it might be ready by 2021.

Wait, Is James Bond 25's Title Being Released Soon?

Wait, Is James Bond 25's Title Being Released Soon?

Ever since the release of Spectre, fans of the James Bond franchise have wondered what was next for the super spy. Whether or not there would be another movie was never in doubt, but what that would be, and what it would look like, certainly was. Now we know that Daniel Craig will be back in the role of Bond, and tomorrow, we'll know something more, according to the official James Bond Twitter account.

Exactly what this live reveal will, well, reveal, isn't made specifically clear. However, since we're still stuck calling this new movie the incredibly generic Bond 25 for the moment, an actual title would be a great place to start. The only thing we know regarding the title is that the previously rumored Shatterhand, is not what the movie is called. So we can eliminate that, and we can probably eliminate the name of every previous Bond film as a title, and that leaves several billion possibilities.

Beyond a title, the one that we know will be part of the announcement is casting. In addition to the returning Daniel Craig, we know that Ralph Finnes, Ben Whishaw and Naomi Harris will return to reprise their roles as members of MI6. We also know that Lea Seydoux's character from Spectre will also return. However, we don't know who the villain will be or what other characters might appear. It sounds like we'll get some of those answers.

This live reveal is set to come from an "iconic 007 location" which likely means the movie is finally getting shooting underway. Once that happens, it will be harder to keep some secrets, such as casting, so perhaps the plan is to let the cat out of the bag this way, and thus get a buzz that will start the hype train going on the new film before its release in 12 months time.

It's been a long road to this point. First we had the prolonged "will he/won't he" question regarding Daniel Craig's return. Once Craig officially did confirm he would play James Bond again, things got underway with Danny Boyle as director. However, Boyle eventually left the project, apparently due to conflicts with the studio and perhaps Craig himself. Cary Fukunaga is now helming the new movie with a script that recently saw rewrites from The Bourne Ultimatum's Scott Z. Burns. There's a good chance we'll see the director as part of this event tomorrow.

Whatever we actually learn tomorrow, it will likely only be the beginning.

Captain Marvel Directors Explain How They Collaborated With The Russos For Avengers: Endgame

Captain Marvel Directors Explain How They Collaborated With The Russos For Avengers: Endgame

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame

It's been over a month since Avengers: Endgame arrived in theaters, and the public is still reeling from the dizzying narrative that The Russo Brothers crafted. And with the spoiler-ban long since lifted, collaborators from the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be more chatty about the movie's contents, revealing how the superheroic sausage gets made.

Endgame and Infinity War were filmed back to back, and with Captain Marvel set to arrive in the interim between releases. The latter movie was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and they recently revealed to CinemaBlend how they collaborated on The Russo Brothers' pair of Avengers flicks, saying:

Ryan Fleck: Yeah, sure. Just to clarify, we were actually shooting simultaneously. They shared the script with us, we shared ours with them, and we each gave each other feedback on them, so it was a very fluid approach to the character. You want to add to that, Anna?

Anna Boden: They did shoot with her before and after she shot with us. But, you know, it was a really nice introduction into that world because the Russo brothers have been working with Marvel for so many years, and had already made a couple of our favorite Marvel films at that point. And we were on set with Brie for her first day of shooting in Atlanta. We saw the first time that she tried on that Captain Marvel costume. It was really exciting and just feeling the energy of bringing this new, really important character into that world, and getting a sense of where she was going to go and how important she was going to be before making our film was really, really amazing.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine, and the Captain Marvel co-directors' comments to CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg prove just that. While the script for Infinity War and Endgame were kept largely under wraps, there was still room for collaboration with directors in the franchise.

Captain Marvel's long-awaited adaptation into live-action came about during a fascinating time in the MCU. Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and The Wasp were released after Avengers: Infinity War, helping to move the story forward and satiate the fans after Thanos snapped his fingers and wiped out half of all life. Brie Larson was cast years earlier, and all eyes were on what Carol Danvers would do with her super powerful abilities.

Brie Larson's role in Endgame was also fascinating because she had to play the role prior to actually filming Captain Marvel. The Oscar-winning actress jumped feet first into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it turns out that the co-directors of the origin movie were cued in to her role in the massive ensemble project. That's how you do serialized storytelling, folks.

Captain Marvel had a fairly limited role in Avengers: Endgame, as The Russo Brothers primarily focused on the original six team members. But she was a macguffin for some of the biggest moments in the blockbuster, starting off by saving Tony Stark and Nebula from certain death in the void of space.

She was noticeably absent from the Time Heist, with a bit of exposition revealing Carol Danvers was policing the galaxy during the fallout of Thanos' snap. But she came back during the knick of time during the final epic battle in the ruins of the Avengers compound. Captain Marvel singlehandedly destroyed Thanos ship, and engaged the Mad Titan directly. She was also in the all-female moment, which caused applause during countless screenings.

Related: One Marvel Hero Had To Be Added To Endgame's Women-Of-Marvel Sequence Via Digital Effects

It should be interesting to see how Captain Marvel factors into Phase Four. She should be in direct communication with the Avengers, and a sequel seems inevitable. The audience also hasn't been privy to how her conflict with the Supreme Intelligence went down, or where the Skrulls ended up taking up residence. And Brie Larson is hoping Ms. Marvel might be introduced in a future installment as well.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

What Excites X-Men Producer Hutch Parker The Most About The Team’s Move To Marvel

What Excites X-Men Producer Hutch Parker The Most About The Team’s Move To Marvel

Although The New Mutants is still set to be the last X-Men franchise movie released that was given the green light when 20th Century Fox was still its own studio, Dark Phoenix will be the last installment of the main X-Men film series. Now that the X-Men and the Fantastic Four are at Marvel Studios, it’s expected that somewhere down the line, these properties will be rebooted to fit within the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity.

Hutch Parker, who’s been a producer on the X-Men franchise ever since 2013’s The Wolverine, is excited to see these mutant heroes and villains operate in the MCU because it allows new filmmakers tot put their own stamp on their characters. As Parker told CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell during the press junket for Dark Phoenix:

[Marvel Studios is] incredibly gifted and they’ve done great work. And to see their interpretation of these characters, part of the fun of doing the X-Men movies has been seeing different filmmakers’ takes on these characters, and that’s the opportunity we going to see with Marvel, is to see their take on what they would do with these characters, and I can’t wait to see.

No doubt a lot of superhero movie fans share that sentiment, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has made it clear that the X-Men will eventually be utilized within the MCU, though that won’t happen for a long time. Nevertheless, Hutch Parker acknowledged that Marvel has delivered a lot of great content over the years, and he’s eager for new creative minds to step in and adapt the X-Men in ways that are different from what we’ve seen in the Fox era.

As far as the main X-Men film series is concerned, half of it has been directed by the same man: Bryan Singer, who kicked off the franchise in 2000 and ended his run with X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016. Brett Ratner directed X-Men: The Last Stand, Matthew Vaughn directed X-Men: First Class (he was going to stick around for X-Men: Days of Future Past, but he left to work on Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Simon Kinberg, who’s been attached to the franchise since The Last Stand, is making his directorial debut with Dark Phoenix.

However, movies like Deadpool and Logan showed that you can deliver X-Men-related movies that feel neither like the main X-Men entries or ‘regular’ superhero movies. With this genre’s popularity showing no signs of dying down, it’s become more important for these kind of movies to try to stand out, particularly when it comes to tone, and the X-Men franchise was getting a good handle on that.

There were a number of X-Men spinoffs in development before Fox was purchased by Disney, such as Gambit, X-Force and X-23, but aside from Ryan Reynolds being kept around as Deadpool, it looks like Marvel will be starting from scratch on the X-Men mythos. So Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants mark the end of an era, but considering everything that MCU has churned out over the last 11 years, it will be interesting to see what kind of spin this franchise eventually puts on the mutants.

You can listen to Hutch Parker’s full remarks on the X-Men’s cinematic future at Marvel in the video below.

As for Dark Phoenix, it picks up nearly a decade after the events of X-Men: Apocalypse and sees Jean Grey being corrupted and turned into the movie’s namesake. It remains to be seen if audiences will be more impressed with this adaptation of The Dark Phoenix Saga than they were with the first one, X-Men: The Last Stand, but commercially speaking, it’s looking to come in second place at the box office this weekend, trailing behind The Secret Life of Pets 2.

Dark Phoenix opens in theaters this Friday, June 7, and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any updates on what’s in store for the X-Men within the MCU. For now, you can look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out later this year.

What Every Major Batman Actor Was Famous For Prior To Playing Bruce Wayne

What Every Major Batman Actor Was Famous For Prior To Playing Bruce Wayne

Since reports surfaced last week that Robert Pattinson would be playing the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, the internet’s outcry has revolved around memories of the actor’s iconic Twilight role of Edward Cullen. Pattinson infamously glittered as a century-old vampire in love with an awkward teenage girl in the five film franchise between 2008 and 2012.

A petition has even made its way online already to boycott Robert Pattinson's casting, as fans have started to divide over the news of the upcoming Batman flick. It’s a predictable response that has happened time and time again during the comic book character’s many iterations over the years. The Dark Knight is beloved by many and fans have been burned before, so strong opinions are bound to come up when the news doesn’t match up with what’s expected or desired.

If past Batman portrayals have taught us anything, it’s this: what they're famous for before suiting up isn’t directly related to how great or not great they’ll be once they do. The filmmakers’ vision and ability to carry this out effectively is what defines a good Batman movie. In honor of The Batman reportedly moving forward with Robert Pattinson taking on the next Bruce Wayne performance, let’s venture back to every major Batman actor's impression on the public prior to their Batman debut.

Michael Keaton - Beetlejuice

Before taking on Batman in the first live-action version of the superhero in over 20 years, Michael Keaton was best known for playing in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. The actor started out in a role that bared more of a resemblance to the Dark Knight’s arch nemesis Joker. If the internet had existed in those days, a lot of folks certainly voiced their concern for the choice considering how goofy and villainous Keaton's most famous role showcased him as. Of course, this collaboration with Burton (which he recently went back to with Dumbo) may have been the very reason why he got his foot in the door to play Batman in the first place.

Michael Keaton had a couple of other roles under his utility belt too. He had his first starring role in Ron Howard’s Night Shift, starring Henry Winkler and Shelley Long. He also played in two other comedies, Mr. Mom and Touch and Go. Looking back, Keaton’s Batman movies are on the more cheesy, comedic side as opposed to the brooding Dark Knights of today but his past roles didn’t exactly scream Bruce Wayne before he nabbed the part.

Val Kilmer - Top Gun

When Val Kilmer was cast in Batman Forever for Joel Schumacher’s first of two takes on the masked vigilante, he had not yet become the action hero we know him as today. The actor broke into Hollywood at 25 with the 1985 comedy Real Genius and then starred as Iceman one year later in the box office mega hit Top Gun. Kilmer definitely had the pretty boy charm to dazzle as the well-off Bruce Wayne. With an overstuffed cast and so-so movie however, the actor won’t go down in history as the best of the Batmen, but it wasn’t his fault, and his performance as the character is actually pretty underrated.

Val Kilmer’s casting as the Caped Crusader may have been a bit more straightforward in comparison to Michael Keaton’s, but the disappointing final product had a lot to do with the movie itself. It goes to show that good casting doesn’t always pan out for both the actor and the fans because there are a lot of moving parts that contribute to a movie finding its wings. Either way, Batman Forever still did well commercially and launched Kilmer in more action roles for years to come.

George Clooney - ER

We now move from the good to the kinda bad to the ugly. Joel Schumacher had another shot at a Batman film, this time with George Clooney as the Bat, and it’s famously a doozie. Even Clooney admitted Batman & Robin “wasn’t a good film” and he doesn’t think he was good in it. However, after he starred in the film Clooney really rose to stardom, much because he learned a lesson to be more choosy in his roles. Before there was Ocean’s Eleven, Up in the Air, The Descendants and Gravity, and before he suited up bat nipples and all, he was best known for playing a hunky doctor on ER.

George Clooney was a heartthrob on the small screen when he played Dr. Doug Ross on the NBC medical drama from 1994 to 1999 before he became Batman. Playing a good-looking hero certainly can’t help one’s chances at nabbing the role of Dark Knight. The actor could have done better as the Caped Crusader if it wasn’t for all the tacky puns and choices the movie made. The role has certainly stopped Clooney from looking in even the general direction of superhero franchises since the experience though.

Christian Bale - American Psycho

After Hollywood took a long break from making more Batman movies, Warner Bros decided to take a crack at Christopher Nolan’s darker take on the comic book hero starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne. Before he was known for the critically-acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy, Bale was most recognized as playing Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. The haunting role had Bale playing a psychopath with a thirst for violent fantasies - which isn’t exactly in line with Batman’s m.o.

Christian Bale had just finished playing an underweight insomniac for The Machinist too when he took on the role and packed on 100 pounds to play the Bat. He actually gained too much and had to drop down 20 before starring in 2005’s Batman Begins. Bale was the first English actor to play Batman, so he likely got some flack at the time for portraying an American hero - though today tons of British actors have successfully taken on superhero roles. The actor wasn’t an obvious choice when he was cast, but now is one the highest regarded actors who have donned the cape and cowl.

Ben Affleck - Argo

Unlike the other Batman actors, Ben Affleck was quite a seasoned actor when he was cast as Bruce Wayne for the DCEU. The actor had a presence in Hollywood for over 20 years, with famed roles in movies like Good Will Hunting, Armageddon, Daredevil and so forth. At the time of Affleck’s casting in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, he was most remembered for starring and directing in Argo, which won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2013.

With the legacy of Christian Bale’s Batman lurking in the shadows, the studio purposely went for an older, more seasoned Batman for the movie in order to avoid comparisons and skip out on telling his origin story again. When Ben Affleck was initially cast, many fans felt he was the wrong choice for the part. However, he ended up faring quite well among audiences as the character once he played the role on the big screen. Still, he never really got time to shine as he shared his screen time with Superman and the Justice League as DCEU attempted to form. After Justice League’s critical failure and Affleck dealing with substance abuse, he left the role and left the solo film wide open for yet another actor.

So now history repeats itself! It's time for another Batman. Robert Pattinson’s resume is actually a lot more extensive than his peers, as he has branched out to dramatic roles in films such as The Lost City of Z, Good Time and High Life along with leading the highly-successful Twilight franchise at the start of his career - oh, and he was in a Harry Potter film too!

From what we know so far about Matt Reeves project has a lot going for it too! The writer/director best known for the latest Planet of the Apes entries has a noir-type tale that will have him showing off his detective skills and going head-to-head with a rogue gallery of villains. So, why not Robert Pattinson? If he was cast in the role, Reeves must have thought he was the man for the job.

What do you think? Are you excited to see Pattinson join these fellas at the next Batman? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Looks Like The Flash's Costume In Cancelled Justice League Mortal Would Have Been Wild

Looks Like The Flash's Costume In Cancelled Justice League Mortal Would Have Been Wild

It's no secret that superhero movies are everywhere. Comic book adaptations have proven to be the most profitable and popular genre in filmmaking, so there are plenty of studios trying to get in on the fun with their own cinematic universe. But there was a time when this wasn't the case, and back in 2007 DC tried to get together the ill-fated blockbuster Justice League Mortal, directed by Mad Max's George Miller.

Details about Justice League Mortal have slowly trickled out throughout the years, including which characters would have factored into the ensemble project. The cast would have featured The O.C.'s Adam Brody as The Flash, but it also appears that the late Anton Yelchin may have been another name floated around. A concept art just hit the internet, reportedly made for Yelchin's verison of the speedster. Check it out below.

Talk about a different look. It looks like George Miller's plans for Justice League Mortal would have been even more void of color than Zack Snyder's trilogy of DC movies. While Snyder often prefers muted tones, the above art for The Flash's costume is totally grey. You can barely even call the character the Scarlet Speedster, considering how void of the color red he is.

This new image comes to us from Instagram, and mentions Anton Yelchin as the actor it was made for. This might be surprising for moviegoers who are familiar with the ill-fated development for Justice League Mortal. A full cast was assembled (and photographed!), with Yelchin not part of the group. Instead, The Flash was going to be played by Adam Brody, who was having some success in the world of TV acting.

Anton Yelchin was also younger than Adam Brody, making the reports of his involvement all the more suspect. Yelchin would have only been about 18 years old in 2007, and didn't have the following he did later in life. As such, it seems more likely that George Miller would have chosen an older and arguably more famous actor to play the Scarlet Speedster.

Regardless of which actor was going to inhabit the role, the possible costume for The Flash in Justice League Mortal would have thrown hardcore comic book fans for a loop. The Flash almost always has a bright red suit, leaving a trail of red behind him when running at superheroic speeds. This look is void of color, possibly teasing a dark incarnation of the character than Ezra Miller eventually played in Justice League. Of course, that might be changing soon.

Ezra Miller's Flash solo movie has been sitting in development hell from years, suffering multiple set backs and losing quite a few directors along the way. The latest report indicates Miller is trying to help the writing process, and make the film darker in tone. Could he also end up with a grey suit? We'll just have to wait and see.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things DC and Flash, as details become public. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Keanu Reeves Really Tried Not To Imitate Buzz Lightyear For Toy Story 4 Role

Keanu Reeves Really Tried Not To Imitate Buzz Lightyear For Toy Story 4 Role

We probably said this in 2010 about Toy Story 3, but this time, Toy Story 4 might really mark Buzz Lightyear's last appearance on screen, so we’d hate to see anyone stealing the thunder of the iconic toy voiced by Tim Allen. When Keanu Reeves came on board to play a new character named Duke Caboom on the upcoming film, there was some discussion regarding the similarities of their Pixar personas.

In Toy Story 4, Keanu Reeves plays "Canada’s favorite stuntman," a mustachioed motorcyclist who loves to show off his poses. When Duke Caboom was first pitched, both Tim Allen and Reeves sensed the two characters had some similarities. However, the John Wick actor assured that he had no intention of imitating the space cadet the role. Here’s what he recently told EW:

I wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything that would go into Tim Allen’s space as Buzz Lightyear. That was one thing I was really paying attention to when I was thinking about the character and how he would talk. So I made Duke a little more gravelly but still tried to give him energy and a big personality… I just thought that Duke should love what he does. He’s the greatest stuntman in Canada! I wanted him to be constantly doing poses on the bike while he was talking, to have this great extroverted passion.

The new character actually has a pretty tragic backstory! He’s advertised as an Evil Knievel-esque stuntman but he cannot actually perform what the commercials say he can do. Because of this, Duke Caboom let his kid down and has a fear of failure. In Toy Story 4, it looks like he will have an important role to play as Woody and Bo team up to rescue Forky and get back to Bonnie.

A new trailer for the film heavily features the Keanu Reeves’ Duke Caboom. See it for yourself:

I guess we’ll have to check out the movie if we want to see how Duke’s important motorcycle stunt pans out! The final trailer ahead of the movie’s release next month also features some more footage of the other new characters ,including Forky, who is central to the movie’s plot. Key and Peele’s Ducky and Bunny also deliver some funny moments to look forward in the film as well.

When a franchise such as this one has had many entries, it’s easy for some plot points and characters to start running together a bit, but Buzz Lightyear and Duke Caboom don’t look to be stepping on each others’ toes as far as we can see. Keanu Reeves found it important to give Duke a gruffer voice and inject some sensitivity and heart to him amidst his enthusiasm for motorcycle stunts.

Funny enough, the actor is actually Canadian and rides motorcycles of his own, so perhaps Duke is a bit of a character of himself in some ways.

Pixar recently said Toy Story 4 will be its last sequel for a while, so fans can look forward to more new characters from the story! The movie is expected to make a grand entrance when it opens on June 21, as tracking has its first weekend at as much as $130 million.

Keanu Reeves has just seen success with his latest John Wick film, which dethroned Avengers: Endgame at the box office over the weekend after reigning for almost a month at number one. It has also just been announced that John Wick 4 is in the works.

Are you excited to see Keanu Reeves Toy Story 4 character? Let us know in the comments below!

7 Changes The Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Should Make So He Looks More Like The Video Game Character

7 Changes The Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Should Make So He Looks More Like The Video Game Character

On Tuesday, Paramount unveiled the first official trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog, the long-gestured live-action film adaptation of Sega's beloved video game creation. On social media, it caused a commotion. And the fan response was far from flattering.

Fans have been hesitant about this Sonic movie ever since it was first announced. And the movie's weird first poster — which featured the character hidden in shadows, but sporting a pair of very beefy legs — was received with more trepidation than anticipation. Sure enough, what they got from this trailer wasn't great. And people didn't take kindly to the changes made to Sonic's iconic design.

Video game lovers worldwide revolted at the sight of Movie Sonic, while even casual movie fans were left puzzled by the anthropomorphic blue hedgehog's look and its unfamiliarity. This new Sonic the Hedgehog movie is the culmination of years of fandom and wavering appreciation for the video game series. As a result, this new Sonic design felt personally insulting to their their long-standing fandom, and the fans voiced their distain online loudly.

But in a surprise turn of events, director Jeff Fowler announced publicly to Sonic fans that he would make it up to them by changing the look of Movie Sonic before it debuted in theaters this November. Whether you consider it constructive criticism or damage control, Jeff Fowler is taking the negative word-of-mouth to heart, and Paramount and Sega want to win fans over again. With that, here are seven changes that could (and should) be made to make the animated speedster a little more likable to the fans.

Change Sonic's Eyes

It's often said that the eyes are the window into one's soul. If that's true, then people drew the curtains on Sonic, refusing into glance into his pixelated perspective. In the games, Sonic has one distinctively interloping eye.

While it would be hard to make that look realistic, it does disappoint fans of the long-running video game series to see Sonic with two little beady, well-parted eyes staring back at them. It's one of those things that instantly makes this design wrong to people. If there's one thing that should be changed, it's making the eyes bigger and more reflective of the well-accustomed, well-established character design of the video game persona.

No Human Teeth

It sounds weird to say (or, rather, type out), but Sonic the Hedgehog shouldn't have human-style teeth. One of the main reasons why many people were immediately off-put by the reworked design of Movie Sonic is because every time the character opened his tiny CG-ed mouth, fans bore witness to those strange little choppers.

At best, they were weird. At their worst, they were utterly terrifying. And they instantly turned some viewers away from appreciating this new character design. It's a hard fix, to be sure, but something that's even a little less... life-like would be preferable.

Extend The Head

Simply put: Movie Sonic's head is a little too small. In addition to the number of issues with his face and figure, his noggin could use a size adjustment or two. Of all the things listed so far, Movie Sonic's head size is probably the closest to accurate when it comes to how it looks in the original games and cartoons.

But it's still a smidge too small. Inflate his ego a bit and make his head a few sizes larger. As someone with a small head myself, I realize this might be a bit of a sensitive topic. But if the animators have the means to change it, they should definitely fix it.

Rework The Torso

In some of the games, Sonic the Hedgehog is rather barrel-chested. His stomach sorta rounds out compared to the rest of his features, and it looks like Sonic is a little too thin in this trailer. If they want to make him look a little more in-line with the character's design in the games, Movie Sonic could afford to run to a McDonald's or two to beef up his size.

Right now, he's looking a little too skinny. Side note: this one is up-for-date since Sonic's figure in some games is skinner than others. So, if he remains skinny, it's not the end of the world, but if he wants to look closer to some of the past designs, it might help to beef him up just a touch.

Widen The Hands

While Sonic is often using his feet to jog great distances, one of the character's most distinctive features remains his oversized hands. Often standing out with his distinctive white gloves, his hands are a key feature to his general design. And the weirdly smaller fists that were seen in the trailer don't quite cut it, frankly.

It seems like it would be a pretty minor tweak, from what I can gather, but it'd definitely be beneficial. At the very least, it would certainly help to have a firmer, ahem, grasp of the character. But also, don't get out of hand! Let's move on from my corny jokes.

Fix The Legs

Considering how Sonic is super-runner and all, one of the most crucial elements of Sonic the Hedgehog is his legs. His quads have been a source of controversy from the get-go when it comes to his film personification. As mentioned earlier, his beefy-looking limbs in the poster left many people completely puzzled. And when it came to his look in the trailer, while it wasn't quite as jarring as that first poster reveal, it still wasn't quite right.

In the video games, Sonic's legs are long and thin. In comparison, his legs in this trailer looked nothing like what we're used to seeing from the character. It would definitely help to change the runner's lower half.

Different Shoes

In the video games, Sonic's footwear is pretty solid and compact. They need to be. He's constantly running, after all, and this speed-loving hedgehog needs a pair of kicks that are pretty durable. Particularly during his usual high-energy sprints. In the trailer we saw, however, he appears to be wearing a fairly plain pair of sneakers. Those would not come in handy when he's running at over 700 miles an hour.

In the broad scheme of things, this is a minor nitpick. But if they're changing things, it's worth considering. Sonic shouldn't be running around in subpar shoes. And please, for the love of God, avoid the temptation to give him product placement-friendly footgear in lieu of these tennis shoes. Though, if the film's budget is gonna balloon through these last-minute changes, I understand if you need the extra cash.

Will any of these changes be made? Only time will tell. But one thing was made evident here: the fans were not the least bit happy about Sonic's new look, and the filmmaker responded in kind, promising to fix Sonic the Hedgehog before the film's November 8 release date. We'll have to wait and see if he is true to his word.

The Dead Don’t Die Trailer: Watch Bill Murray Face The Zombie Apocalypse (Again)

The Dead Don’t Die Trailer: Watch Bill Murray Face The Zombie Apocalypse (Again)

A decade ago, Bill Murray lent his talents for a small, but memorable appearance in Zombieland, although unfortunately for the fictionalized version of the Ghostbusters star, things didn’t end well for him. Now Murray is back to face down another zombie apocalypse, only this time he gets to be one of the stars of the show. This summer sees the release of Focus Features’ The Dead Don’t Die, and you can watch the trailer for the Jim Jarmusch-directed and written movie below.

I have to say, even for a zombie comedy, the characters in The Dead Don’t Die are handling the undead invading their small town rather cavalierly. Even after it’s discovered that Centerville (population: 738) is dealing with a zombie epidemic rather than an issue with wild animals, none of the main characters seem that frightened. Bill Murray’s Cliff Robertson and Adam Driver’s Ronald Peterson are particularly unfazed, although that’s probably a good thing since they’re responsible for keeping the peace with Chloe Sevigny’s character. If the police officers are freaking out about the zombies, then what chance do the other townsfolk have of staying safe?

Along with the previously mentioned actors, The Dead Don’t Die’s cast includes Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Austin Butler, Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez, Calbe Landry Jones, Danny Glover, Sarah Driver, IZA, Carol Kane, Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. Swinton’s character, like the three police officers, also seems to be handling the zombie invasion calmly. Granted, working at a funeral home, she’s used to dead bodies, but when two of the corpses she’s basically decorating open their eyes, she simply inquires if they’re “together.” Even after zombies have overrun Centerville, she’s confident she can defend herself against the undead with a katana in her hands. Look, if there aren’t any police officers around, I have no trouble sticking close to the Scottish swordswoman.

One of the other funny things shown in the trailer for The Dead Don’t Die trailer is that these zombies gravitate towards things that they did when they were alive, like play tennis or drink coffee. In the case of Carol Kane’s zombie, she asks for chardonnay, and I can’t figure out if a zombie on booze will make them more or less dangerous. In any case, while things are dire in Centerville, The Dead Don’t Die will definitely be a more lighthearted entry to the catalog of zombie movies, so here’s hoping those who manage to avoid being bitten by the undead will keep their cool and either defeat their slow-moving adversaries or escape to another town to warn others about this epidemic.

The Dead Don’t Die scares its way into theaters on June 14. If you’re curious about what other movies are coming out later this year, look through our 2019 release schedule.

Us Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of The New Jordan Peele Horror Movie

Us Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of The New Jordan Peele Horror Movie

Jordan Peele's first movie was as big a success as any writer/director could have possibly hoped for. It was a massive box office success, it got audiences talking, and it won him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. That's a tough act to follow, but now Peele is back with his brand new movie. Us hit theaters today and it had a lot to live up to. However, in the opinion of most of us here at CinemaBlend, Peele has another huge winner.

I wrote the official review and there really wasn't enough good that I could say about Us, I gave the movie 4.5 stars out of five. It is a chilling horror movie while being an equally chilling allegory. Much like Get Out, it's a movie that leaves you questioning not only the world around you, but also yourself.

Once again, as in Get Out, Jordan Peele finds the greatest way to scare the hell out of you is to make you take a good hard look at yourself.

Us follows a family of four on vacation in Santa Cruz when their peaceful time together is interrupted by another family of four, a quartet of twisted doppelgangers who have arrived to torture and torment their opposites. The who and the why of it all is the stuff of serious spoilers, but needless to say it's all pretty terrifying.

But there's also so much more to it than that. There's a lot to potentially dissect about Us. While the movie works as a straight forward horror movie if that's all you're looking for, there are many layers to what Jordan Peele has put in front of us. Some are obvious, others less so. This makes it the sort of movie you'll want to run out and talk to people about as soon as you see it. CinemaBlend Managing Director Sean O'Connell recommends that you not only see Us, but you see it with friends...twice...

Us proves that Jordan Peele isn't a one-hit wonder. It also proves that, after only two films, he's already operating on a higher level than most seasoned storytellers. Going more "horror" than the socio-political commentary of Get Out, Us tells a twisted tale of doppelgängers and home invasions, suggesting that the enemies who should scare us the most might just be ourselves. See it with a group, because you're going to want to discuss this with people immediately after you see it... and then go see it again.

Is there anything that can even be said about Jordan Peele that hasn't already been said? The man had already proven himself to be one of the smartest comedians out there, and he shows how closely comedy and horror are truly linked by proving he's the best working today when it comes to horror movies. As the creative force behind, now, two of the best movies of the last two years, We know Jordan Peele is everything he appears to be.

Sr. Movie Contributor Mike Reyes is another who sings the praises of Jordan Peele, but is also sure to give a shout out to the real MVP of Us, star Lupita Nyong'o.

With Us, writer/director Jordan Peele only further cements his position as a storyteller and satirist of the highest order. His story of doppelgangers out for revenge dives deep into some dark waters of paranoia and social commentary, but does so in such a manner that it never forgets to entertain its audience. Furthermore, Lupita N'yongo delivers a masterclass of acting, as her dual role is the centerpiece of a complex film that's only going to get better with age and repeated views.

Jordan Peele's previous directorial effort Get Out, was one of those films that many have a tough time classifying. While most would certainly call it a horror movie, it was one made without some of the elements that many would closely associate with the genre. Us, is a much more straight forward horror movie, as it has monsters and more on-screen violence, but that doesn't mean it's an easier movie to categorize. CinemaBlend's Braden Roberts loved the way Us was able to be more than one thing, and be all of them so well.

Jordan Peele’s Us is a trapeze act that manages to juggle horror, thriller and even comedic elements on an increasingly intense scale. To place a single genre on the film would be wrong as it’s a harmonious amalgam of fear and delight. Not to mention Luipta Nyong’o, whose performance alone is reason enough to get out and see Us in theaters.

Of course, while most of us who saw Us loved it, there is rarely complete agreement when it comes to art, especially here at CinemaBlend. Product Manager Cody Beck just wasn't able to connect with Us in the way that the rest of us were. While he certainly appreciated various elements of the film, he felt those elements just weren't able to come together in a satisfying way.

Us definitely did a beautiful job of telling a story, it was just a story that never fully pulled me in. Peele’s sophomore film was intense and brutal, yet also funny and full of great pop culture references spanning decades and while the story itself was unique and clearly symbolic of real-world issues, it was also just a bit too bizarre for me to fully accept. I still recommend horror fans check it out and I’m still just as eager to see his upcoming reboot of The Twilight Zone.

While the praise might not be universal, it is largely positive. Jordan Peele certainly has another thrilling movie on his hands that is going to get audiences talking. If the box office estimates are any indication, it will also be a huge financial success as well. If we all run out to see it more than once, as many are suggesting is worth doing, that's only going to make it that much more of a success. This is the one everybody is going to be talking about, and it's one you're going to want to ask everybody about after you see it.

Us is in theaters now.