The Russo Brothers Suggest Watching Two MCU Movies Before Avengers: Endgame

The Russo Brothers Suggest Watching Two MCU Movies Before Avengers: Endgame

We are T-minus 22 days until Avengers: Endgame hits theaters, and that gives fans just enough time to rewatch the 21 movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date before The Infinity Saga comes to a close. You could do one movie a day, binge them, or you could take part in AMC’s epic 59-hour marathon. But if you don’t have time for that or you’re already committed to rewatching Game of Thrones (seriously, how awesome is April?) the Russo Brothers have suggested two MCU movies you should check out before Endgame. According to Anthony Russo:

It's a great question, and I will say we do work hard to make sure that the story works in a way that even people who haven't seen any thing [can still enjoy the movie] because we feel like that's very important. I think you see this movie after movie, the audience keeps growing for these films. So what that tells us is that people are seeing these movies who haven't seen the previous ones. So it's important that we are speaking to an audience that is perhaps seeing these stories for the first time. That being said, there's certainly an interconnected story being told. I would say, certainly, Civil War and Infinity War are probably the two biggest lead-ins to this movie in the sense that Civil War created the situation where the Avengers were divided.

Speaking to Fandango, Anthony Russo explains that he, his brother and Marvel endeavor to make sure that the MCU movies are accessible and can bring in new fans and they have been successful in that. The hope is that you could theoretically come in to watch Avengers: Endgame cold, why you would do that is a mystery but the idea is that you could.

Nevertheless, this is obviously a story many films in the making and if you wanted to only hit the bullet points to enter this world or refresh your memory before Endgame, you should watch Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. These picks make the most sense, as they are the last two MCU films the Russo Brothers directed. And that makes them natural primers for Avengers: Endgame.

That you should rewatch Avengers: Infinity War is obvious. These two films were originally conceived of as two parts of a giant film and Infinity War set up the cliffhanger that will need to be resolved in Endgame. You need to know or refresh your memory on Thanos, the Infinity Stones, how they Avengers fought and how and who they lost.

Anthony Russo also says that you should watch Captain America: Civil War because that was the movie that divided the Avengers. That was the first film out of the gate in Phase 3, and it set up the fractured nature of the heroes that continued through Avengers: Infinity War. When Bruce Banner came back to Earth in Infinity War he found out that the Avengers were no more.

The various teams in Infinity War weren’t the product of a divide and conquer strategy, they were the natural result of the heroes no longer communicating with one another and working together. Consider that they might have had more time to save Vision and destroy the Mind Stone if Cap and Co. weren’t in exile and knew about the threat sooner.

To defeat Thanos for good the Avengers must truly assemble and that means healing the deep wound suffered in Captain America: Civil War. We’ve already seen Cap and Tony reuniting in the trailers for Endgame, so that schism will clearly be addressed and if you don’t remember exactly how it happened in the first place, rewatching Civil War is a sound idea.

Tickets are now on sale for Avengers: Endgame, hopefully you’ve managed to get yours during the website-breaking frenzy that took place yesterday. Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies.

Creed 3 Likely Would Not Feature Conor McGregor

Creed 3 Likely Would Not Feature Conor McGregor

While Michael Jordan has made it clear he would like to continue making Creed movies, at this point we have no idea what form such a sequel could take. Who would be the new opponent for Adonis Creed? It seems that now the only thing we can guess right now is that it probably won't be MMA star Conor McGregor. Michael B. Jordan was recently asked what he thought of the idea of bringing in McGregor for Creed III and the actor seemed less than thrilled with the concept, saying...

Eh, I don't know about that man.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

The idea of Conor McGregor making the jump from the octagon to the silver screen has come up before. He was apparently in talks to star in The Predator at some point, though director Shane Black insists he was never actually offered the lead.

It seems like only a matter of time before the MMA fighter parlays his celebrity into something that doesn't include as many shots to the nose. Most recently McGregor has said that he's done with MMA, so if he wanted to try his hand at movies, now is as good a time as any.

However, one assumes that Michael B. Jordan is a guy who largely gets to determine his own fate in the Creed franchise so if he's not sold on the idea, it's unlikely to happen. Since his comment to TMZ is far from excited, perhaps the next movie should look elsewhere for an idea.

Following the success of Creed II many have suggested that a future Creed film could bring back other previous Rocky opponents as Creed II did with Ivan Drago. The suggestion that Rocky III's Clubber Lang, as played by Mr. T, could return has been made, but it's far from certain that a future sequel would go back to the well like that once again.

With Sylvester Stallone indicating that he's done playing Rocky Balboa after Creed II, it would seem to make a lot more sense for Creed III to go off in a new direction and find a more original opponent. There's certainly the opportunity to tell more of Adonis Creed's story, but how he moves on without his mentor and surrogate father seems like the most interesting way to do it.

Of course, I'm not sure anybody has asked Conor McGregor if he's like to co-star in Creed III and if he does, it's always possible something could be worked out. If there's a good enough story anything is possible.

Creed II out grossed the first film in the franchise, which would seem to make a third entry a pretty strong possibility considering all the creative forces are also interested in returning to the series.

How Much Shazam! Made On Its Opening Night

How Much Shazam! Made On Its Opening Night

Shazam doesn't have the sort of name recognition with the average movie fan that Superman, Wonder Woman, or even Aquaman has. However, the character who has been around in the comics almost as long as Superman now has his own big screen adventure just like those top tier heroes and based on the preview night screenings, he's going to be putting up some respectable numbers against his DC brothers and sisters. While estimates were that Shazam! was going to do around $4 million, actual numbers are closer to $6 million.

While it's still a little early to know for sure, it looks like Shazam!'s Thursday night tally was in the neighborhood of $5.9 million, rather than the $4-$4.5 million that it was looking like as things were getting going last night. This is in addition to the paid previews run by Fandango a couple weeks ago, which means the movie has already grossed over $9 million. While that's certainly not going to put the film in the record books, it's a solid number that puts Shazam! just bellow Marvel's Ant-Man, on the superhero preview list, and well above movies like Captain America: The First Avenger and even Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It also more than doubled the preview numbers of its opening weekend competition, the remake of Pet Sematary.

But of course, these numbers are just the beginning. According to Deadline, Shazam! is expecting to bring in $45-$50 million over its opening weekend in North America, with another $100 million or more expected for overseas. If Shazam! hits the high side of all its global estimates it could be seeing a worldwide opening weekend of $170 million, which is remarkable.

Considering that Shazam! did a lot better than expected last night, hitting the high end of expectations, or even exceeding them, certainly seems possible.

Shazam! will be the domestic box office champion on Monday, as it will be putting up numbers similar to what Dumbo did last weekend even if it only does as projected. However, while that film is struggling a bit internationally as well, it's done less than $130 million globally, Shazam! international business looks to make it a solid hit.

This is good news for DC and Warner Bros. because we already knew that there were plans for more from the Shazam! corner of the DC Universe. Dwayne Johnson, who co-produced Shazam!, was cast as villain Black Adam long before Zachary Levi was ever given the nod as the title character. One fully expects these two characters to cross paths somewhere down the line.

Of course, the box office charts are about to get even more crowded than usual with comic book movies. Hellboy is set to debut next week. Which, of course, will be followed a couple of weeks later by a little indie flick called Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame Already Passed Titanic In Its Second Weekend, Only Avatar Remains

Avengers: Endgame Already Passed Titanic In Its Second Weekend, Only Avatar Remains

Well, that was quick! So much for "Never let go," eh, Titanic? Someone needs to get James Cameron on the horn to ask him about Avengers: Endgame. It took the Marvel Studios film just two weekends to topple one of JC's top-grossing films, with an eye on his other, the highest-grossing film of all time -- Avatar.

James Cameron may not care at all, it's not like he has anything left to prove. But wow! Avengers: Endgame just keeps topping expectations when the expectations were already high.

Endgame made over $1 billion in its first weekend at the worldwide box office, and it just topped over $2 billion for its second weekend. The current global tally is $2,188,698,638.

That just squeaked it past Titanic, which had a worldwide gross of $2,187,463,944. You're right, that's not adjusted for inflation. It's not comparing the exact number of tickets sold.

But it does move Avengers: Endgame up the list to dethrone Titanic as the #2 highest-grossing movie of all time. After two weekends. Only Avatar remains.

Avatar is well within reach now, despite naysayers. That doesn't mean it will be easy or happen next weekend. Don't bank on it -- unless you want to, since watching this play out in real time is pretty fun.

Avatar's worldwide gross is $2,787,965,087. That's the most total money a movie has ever made at the theatrical box office. As you can see, Endgame is still about $600 million behind Avatar. Definitely doable. When? Eh. I'll say by the end of May, but that could be off.

There's a lot of competition coming to the box office pretty soon, from Detective Pikachu and John Wick 3 to Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Toy Story 4.

There wasn't much competition at the box office this weekend, which is why Endgame's domestic tickets "only" dropped -59.2% from its massive opening, with a still crazy impressive per-screen average of $31,275.

I can feel people arguing that it's not fair to compare grosses without adjusting for inflation. If we do that, at least for domestic ticket prices, Gone with the Wind is number one, followed by the first Star Wars, then The Sound of Music, E.T., and then Titanic. You don't get to Avatar until #15 and Avengers: Endgame is currently at #74. But that's just domestic, and just so far for Endgame, per Box Office Mojo figures.

We ran a poll last weekend asking if Avengers: Endgame would pass Avatar. Most fans said yes, and I think that case just got stronger. So let's turn the conversation to when and how much for the total worldwide gross. Is $3 billion in the cards? You tell me how much, and when.

Why Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Wanted To Put The 'God' Back In Godzilla

Why Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Wanted To Put The 'God' Back In Godzilla

At the end of 2014’s Godzilla, after the titular beast has prevailed over the MUTOs and saved what was left of San Francisco, the news reports declare him King of the Monsters and query if he is the savior of the city. The idea of Godzilla as a savior is apt for the sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The film’s director, Michael Dougherty, really wanted the film to put the ‘god’ back in Godzilla, as he explained:

Myself and my writing partner, Zach Shields, we kept saying that we wanted to put the 'god' back in Godzilla. By that, I mean, the way that I always saw the creatures growing up. I didn't see men in rubber suits. I saw ancient, powerful, mythic creatures. To me, these creatures were intelligent beings fighting out old grudges. They were the equivalent of dragons and giants, and all the creatures you read about in mythology and the Bible. That's what they were. That's sort of element that we wanted to add to the film.

By saying they wanted to put the ‘god’ back into Godzilla, Mike Dougherty meant that he and Zach Shields saw Godzilla a certain way and they wanted to bring their vision for the character to life in the film. The way that they saw Godzilla and the Titans was not as cheap movie monsters or the result of a science experiments gone awry, but like dragons, giants, the Old Ones or any other mythological beasts and creatures so wondrous and magnificent that they defy comprehension.

As he told Total Film Magazine, Mike Dougherty wanted Godzilla and the other Titans to feel ancient and unknowable, mythic and biblical, with a power and scale that is truly godlike. Like gods, these are creatures whose motivations and machinations take place on a higher plane beyond our understanding, and when they clash, looking to settle scores millennia in the making, the result is truly apocalyptic, like something out of the Bible.

Mike Dougherty has really leaned into that biblical feel with the film, and not long ago he even tweeted a new image out from the film accompanied by a verse from the Book of Job. This sort of ancient, god-like feel really sets Godzilla 2's Titans apart from the monster in Cloverfield or the Kaiju in Pacific Rim.

This element may have been lacking in the previous MonsterVerse movies, although I would argue Kong: Skull Island did some work to expand the mythology, but Mike Dougherty really wanted to bring it to the fore in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. And although we have yet to see the film, he appears to have done just that based on the trailers.

This word is often overused, but the trailers for Godzilla: King of the Monsters have felt truly epic, and I think a big part of that is because of what Mike Dougherty talked about, putting the ‘god’ back in Godzilla. The trailers have talked about the leviathans known as Titans being the planet’s original inhabitants and the images of their battle has looked like something out of the end times, with one side fighting to protect humanity and another looking to destroy it.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters roars into theaters on May 31. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies.

Detective Pikachu Had One Job To Do And It Nailed It

Detective Pikachu Had One Job To Do And It Nailed It

Going into Pokemon: Detective Pikachu this past weekend, there was a lot of anticipation as to how the first live-action entry in the Pokemon canon was going to pull off what seemed impossible. Indeed, there was one job that this film had to do, and it needed to get it done properly. That task was to create a world where people and Pokemon could live together in a way that was believable on film.

After seeing the film twice this past weekend, I was struck with the same feeling in each viewing of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu: the world of Pokemon was absolutely nailed in the film. What’s better is, this monumental achievement was accomplished thanks to several components the film incorporated into its whole.

While it was one job that needed to be done, to make the world of Pokemon believable on screen, several components needed to be in place in order for total success. And here’s our list of what those components were and how they benefitted the film’s overall goal of bringing these Pocket Monsters to life in a believable manner.

Pokemon Have Been Translated Perfectly To Live Action

With creatures as unique-looking as Pokemon are, there was obviously a need to get their appearance correct in Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. And if there was any component that this world would need to build the rest of its strategy upon, it’d be the fact that if you don’t have Pokemon that look comparatively believable in a world full of flesh and blood humans, your movie’s not going to make it very far.

Lucky for director Rob Letterman and the rest of the folks involved in Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, the actual creatures that populate this film's universe are absolutely stunning. In particular, the look of Detective Pikachu himself, with very wavy and texture fur covering every inch of his person, is a firm example of how getting the design of a Pokemon is so crucial to correctly conveying the entire enterprise this film represents.

Detective Pikachu Showed That A Parent/Child Friendly Tone Can Be Struck

Ryan Reynolds has basically admitted that if Warner Bros and The Pokemon Company really wanted to, they could release a separate, more mature cut of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. While that isn’t a surprise, it’s also equally unsurprising that the finished product released into theaters this past weekend played exceedingly well for children and parents, with two levels of humor present in one package.

For the children, the physical antics involving all of the characters present throughout Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, as well as some good natured humor, are easy to enjoy while watching the Pokemon of this universe do their thing. Meanwhile, there was some subtle, line-toeing innuendos that slid into the script for parents to get some sly chuckles out of, such as Detective Pikachu’s off-handed comment about people putting their fingers in him. All in all, everyone could have a laugh, and no one had to be any wiser about the fun stuff that snuck in for older viewers.

The Movie Created A Fantastic Story Out Of An Open Ended Game Universe

When you’re trying to craft a universe as spectacular as Pokemon: Detective Pikachu in a live-action film, another key component is using the source material to your advantage. And as it turns out, Pokemon has a storied history of telling a narrative in the open-ended universe of the original games. But even with that history, this film’s story exceeded expectations.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu not only plays around with the usual story of Pokemon and their place in a world of humans that's also been explored in animated TV shows and movies, it also dug into a story of a son dealing with his feelings towards his father. With Justice Smith’s Tim trying to sort out his feelings of his presumed dead father, while solving a case with his Pikachu partner, married a very emotional story with the usual message of co-existence between the species that Pokemon has always tried to advance.

It Proved That People Still Want To See A Pokemon Movie

You can make a movie look, sound and feel as fantastic as Pokemon: Detective Pikachu all you want, but if people aren’t interested in the content, any potential cinematic universe will fall flat on its face. Getting the world of Pokemon itself was a big step, but the greatest thing this movie did was prove the fact that people are still very much invested in the property’s fate.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu managed to not only make itself a movie that was worth seeing, but it also attracted fans of the franchise and newbies to flock to theaters and see what it had. If anyone was wondering if what Pokemon would look like in a live-action adventure, all they have to do now is go see this film and they’ll find out. The ultimate sign that Warner Bros nailed Pokemon on the big screen is the fact that so many people have already gone to see it in its first weekend, with more weekends ahead to show just how well the idea holds up.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu’s one important job was to convince the world that Pokemon could believably exist alongside humans, be it in the fictional confines of Ryme City or the world of our modern blockbuster box office. Through the factors described above, that job was absolutely nailed, and a promising new cinematic universe was born.

We’ll have to wait and see what the future for Pokemon looks like, as Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is still in its first week of release. But if the results are as promising as the film itself, we might not have seen the last of these lovable creatures, or the stories they can tell. Here’s hoping we get a chance to catch them all.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is in theaters now. If you haven’t seen it yet, whether you’re a Pokemon fan or not, you owe it to yourself to experience the wonder first hand.

Detective Pikachu Has Screened, See What People Are Saying

Detective Pikachu Has Screened, See What People Are Saying

Pokemon is a worldwide phenomenon with millions of fans but up until now, fans have only seen it in an animated form. Now, the first group of people have had a chance to see the new live-action Detective Pikachu and if you thought the film looked cute, funny, and fun, based on the trailers, it seems that the first group of critics is confirming that the entire movie is that way.

Terri Schwartz at IGN says this is the perfect movie for Pokemon fans, as it is a loving recreation of the world of Pokemon, including remarkable creature designs.

I just got out of Detective Pikachu and my first thought is OMG HOW DID THEY MAKE PIKACHU SO CUTE!!! It completely nails the world of Pokémon, and just seeing their amazing live action creature designs is worth the price of admission. If you love Pokémon, you’ll love this movie.

This has to be great news for fans who have been waiting for the Pokemon franchise to receive this kind of treatment. It's probably fair to say that nobody quite expected Pokemon's first live-action movie to be inspired by the video game franchise off shoot Detective Pikachu, or that the title character would be voiced by Ryan Reynolds, but as unusual as that may have seemed, from the first trailer there was a clear charm permeating what we saw.

Collider's Dave Trumbore was also among those who got a chance to see the new film last night, and if given the chance, he's ready to move in.

Just saw Detective Pikachu here in Tokyo and, man, I wish Ryme City was a real place because I really want a Pokémon pal.

The biggest question of Detective Pikachu might be just how popular the franchise is with the general public. While a generation has grown up with the pocket monsters, it might still qualify as a niche property. Of course, if enough of those fans turn out, the movie will still be a massive hit. According to Nerds of Color, those fans will be rewarded because there is plenty of nostalgia to get them excited.

Detective Pikachu is adorably funny & takes you deep into the world of Pokemon, which every Pokemon fan will appreciate. The nostalgia is real. Detective Pikachu will have you laughing & tearing up a bit too. Ryan Reynolds & Justice Smith are golden in this.

Of course, if all you're expecting is awesome Pokemon and action, you might be surprised. It sounds like the movie also has some heart to it, as Nerdist's Dan Casey admitted to getting a little emotional at parts.

Detective Pikachu is a pure joy from start to finish. It’s a heartfelt, relentlessly charming story filled with excellent worldbuilding. Plenty of deep cuts for Pokémon fans. There must’ve been a grass-type in the theater because I got surprisingly misty-eyed in parts.

Pretty much every review from the recent Detective Pikachu event in Japan sounds pretty much the same. The Pokemon are adorable. The movie is funny. Really what else do you need? It sounds like this really is the Pokemon movie that fans have been waiting for. They don't have to wait too much longer, as Detective Pikachu hits theaters May 10.