Marvel Asked For Loki To Be 'A Villain As Good As Magneto,' Thor Writer Reveals

Marvel Asked For Loki To Be 'A Villain As Good As Magneto,' Thor Writer Reveals

One of the strongest criticisms of the MCU for a long time was that it had a villain problem. Despite producing iconic heroes left and right, Marvel Studios could never quite create a memorable villain. During the early phases of the MCU, the notable exception was Loki, who would be labeled as Marvel's best villain before he finally got some competition. Apparently, Marvel knew early on that it had to nail Loki, and executives told Thor screenwriter Zack Stentz that his top priority was making Loki as good a villain as Magneto.

Way back in the early days of of the MCU, Marvel Studios knew that it was building up to The Avengers. As such, studio execs had the idea that Loki would the villain of that film, but they were also aware that they weren't super great with making good villains. Iron Monger, Whiplash, and the Abomination were forgotten as soon as people left the theater.

So, if Loki had to be their Big Bad of Phase One, they needed to get it right. Here's what the studio told Zack Stentz when he was writing the screenplay for Thor.

It's a complicated issue because we had a very clear mandate when we were writing Thor. They already knew that they were building towards The Avengers and they already had the notion that Loki was going to be the villain. They knew that their villains thus far in the MCU had been a bit underwhelming, and they said -- one of the executives literally said, 'Look, if you fail at everything else, give us a villain as good as Magneto in Loki.' We need someone at that level because that’s going to be our villain for The Avengers.

Back in 2011, The Dark Knight's Joker was the villain to beat, but before that film came along, Magneto was probably the best modern day comic book movie villain. He appeared in every X-Men movie, he had cool powers, and the audience could sympathize with his rationale because of his sad backstory.

Loki certainly has the audience's sympathy. Zack Stentz told The Fanboy Podcast that while writing the character, he knew that one of the most important things for making Loki a great villain is that he had to be relatable.

We always put a lot of effort into our villains, but in this case we really worked hard giving Loki an interesting story and making him sympathetic at the same time as he's doing these terrible things.

I would say that Zack Stentz and his fellow Thor writers certainly gave Marvel what they wanted. Loki went on to become a huge hit with fans, and even after all these years he's still in the Top Five of MCU villains. Of course, a lot of the credit also goes to Tom Hiddleston for his performance as the character.

Loki's movie future was made unclear by Avengers: Endgame, but the character will be the star of his very own mini-series on Disney+, which doesn't have a release date yet. Magneto, currently played by Michael Fassbender, will be seen on screen again soon in Dark Phoenix, which opens in theaters July 7.

Emperor Palpatine Might Not Be The Only Surprise Star Wars Character Returning For The Rise Of Skywalker

Emperor Palpatine Might Not Be The Only Surprise Star Wars Character Returning For The Rise Of Skywalker

Up until a little over a week ago, the biggest Star Wars alumnus who was set to return to a galaxy far far away through Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was Billy Dee Williams, playing Lando Calrissian for the third time on the big screen. Then the first Rise of Skywalker trailer capped off with Emperor Palpatine’s sinister laugh, and it was confirmed soon after that Ian McDiarmid is reprising the hooded Sith Lord.

You’d think that nothing could surpass the man also known as Darth Sidious somehow being thrown into the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker mix, but a new rumor is out claiming that there’s an even bigger character return on the horizon. Just to be safe, those of you who don’t want to be potentially spoiled heavily on Episode IX might want to turn back now. I’ll give you a moment…

Are the rest you settled in? Okay, supposedly Harrison Ford is back as Han Solo, who we last saw being killed by his own son, Ben Solo, a.k.a. Kylo Ren, in The Force Awakens.

Making Star Wars claims to have heard from multiple sources that Han Solo will have a role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, although it’s difficult to 100% piece together how he’ll be used. According to the outlet, Han will appear in a sequence with his Kylo Ren in what is described as a “surprise intervention of sorts.”

Remember in The Force Awakens when Kylo Ren was talking to the charred Darth Vader helmet? This sequence between Han Solo and Kylo Ren might take place when the latter is conversing with his grandfather’s helmet again. But here’s where things get extra weird. Luke Skywalker is said to be the “twist” of this encounter, and rather than being a traditional Force ghost, Han is part of a “vision” or “dream” type moment that Luke brings forth.

The report also notes that the sequence has a “tone of forgiveness and understanding to it,” with Han solo telling his son that “it isn’t too late.” Whether this is really Han speaking from the great beyond or just a simulation that the also-deceased Luke has conjured, it fits that he’d be wanting to draw his son back to the light since that’s what he died doing in The Force Awakens.

Needless to say that the above information is anything but official, so for now, take it with a grain of salt. However, assuming all of this is true, it also remains to be seen if Kylo Ren will cross back to the light side or if he’ll ignore Han and Luke, and continue being an agent of the dark side.

Before The Force Awakens came out, Harrison Ford hadn’t been shy taking about how he’d wanted Han Solo to die in Return of the Jedi, and over 30 years later, he got his wish and the beloved smuggler finally bit the dust. While Alden Ehrenreich did play a younger Han in Solo: A Star Wars Story, most have logically assumed that The Force Awakens would be the last time we’d ever see Ford in the role. But if this new rumor proves legitimate, then fingers crossed that Ford’s true last performance as Han is a worthy and emotional inclusion for the last chapter of the Skywalker Saga.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters on December 20, so keep checking in with CinemaBlend for more coverage about it. For now, you can learn what this year’s other big movies are arriving by looking through our 2019 release schedule.

Watch Brie Larson Surprise Fans At A Captain Marvel Screening

Watch Brie Larson Surprise Fans At A Captain Marvel Screening

Captain Marvel had a big opening in theaters this weekend, and lead actress Brie Larson did her part to garner some additional excitement around the film. Over the weekend, she headed to an AMC theater in Clifton, NJ, where she sold snacks and surprised audiences. You can take a look at the actress wandering into a theater below.

Forget surprising fans at a screening for a movie you just starred in. The real joy, here, is how much Brie Larson seemed to be enjoying sucking down that beverage with her face on it. Seriously though, the actress threw on a fun store bought version of Captain Marvel’s jumpsuit. (I would guess it was a mite more comfortable than the real thing.)

She said of carrying the giant drink around that she had “just heard” she was on the cup and needed to see it herself. What a weird experience that would probably be, finding your likeness on a cup for the first time. In the Facebook video, you can also see the myriad flashes of people taking shots of the actress in the theaters. There are plenty of hoots and hollers as well, which the actress takes in stride.

I’ve been to public screenings before where celebrities show up and the experience is quite unlike anything else. These sorts of things generally happen on opening weekend when people really, really want to see the movie anyway. Throw in a celebrity and the energy becomes palpable.

In addition to showing up in the theater, Brie Larson even handed out popcorn and other snacks to other moviegoers at the AMC theater, which was some free labor AMC likely didn’t expect.

That’s not all of the snack shots Brie Larson posed for either. The actress was also seen posing for photos with fans and even filling up buckets of popcorn.

Captain Marvel opened to $153 million domestically at the weekend box office, so it really didn’t need any pr from Brie Larson to be successful. However, the gesture seems to have really been appreciated by the Clifton crowd and the actress herself seemed to be having a blast. You can catch Carol Danvers having a blast, as well, in theaters now.

The John Wick Franchise Methodically Plans Out Its Use Of Blood

The John Wick Franchise Methodically Plans Out Its Use Of Blood

If things had played out differently with director David Leitch and Chad Stahelski’s John Wick franchise, we might have seen a franchise that splattered a whole lot more blood onto the screen. But as their intentions were to have a more realistic, but still brutal series of kills in their film, the directors instructed their visual effects team to bring things down a notch.

So while you do see blood in the John Wick series, it’s very methodically placed in its usage. Part of that is due to the reality of the wounds the series inflicts on its various baddies, as you’ll see in the following remarks from Kirk Brillon, the VFX supervisor from John Wick: Chapter 2:

A lot of times when you’re doing special effects for action movies, when someone gets shot, the blood explodes out toward you, toward the camera. But when you’re actually shot by a bullet, the blood’s coming out the back.

Apparently, the call for more realistic gore in the John Wick universe came from the fact that David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, both trained stuntmen who worked on The Matrix with Keanu Reeves, are versed in how things like gunshot wounds, snapped limbs and other sorts of grotesqueries look in the practical world. So rather than ramp things up Tarantino style, the call was made early on to keep it real, straight on through to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Comparatively, that decision was, and still is, a wise play to keep in the John Wick series of films. The action pretty much speaks for itself, with the blood being an accent of realism showing that those bone crunching stunts hurt the characters as much as you thought they would.

Ultimately, the policy on blood in the John Wick universe can be summed up in the following words spoken by Kirk Brillon, also spoken during this very interview he gave to Variety:

The blood’s gonna be there, but it’s gonna be subtle, and it’s gonna be behind them.

While there’s not an excess of blood shed during the course of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, there’s certainly a lot of cash and goodwill being thrown around by its audience. Weighing in with $109 million in its first week at the box office, this third film opens the door wide open for a fourth chapter, both in terms of where the plot winds up in the ending, and with Lionsgate excited to get to work on that very film’s scheduling.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is currently in theaters, making peace and preparing for war. But if you’ve already caught that film, or if you want to check something else out at the movies, take a look at our 2019 release schedule for futrher information.

Steven Spielberg Clarifies His Opinion On Netflix

Steven Spielberg Clarifies His Opinion On Netflix

Last year’s awards buzz for Alfonso Cuaron’s Netflix film Roma rocked the boat in Hollywood for a number of reasons. One, because it started a kerfuffle between Netflix and theater chains about their 90-day exclusivity window. Two: it began a conversation about whether films produced by streaming services should be eligible for Oscar nominations and also sparked the alleged “Spielberg vs. Netflix” conflict.

According to legendary E.T. director, the latter has been blown out of proportion in the media in recent months. Steven Spielberg penned an email to the New York Times to clarify his comments on streaming services. Take a look:

I want people to find their entertainment in any form or fashion that suits them. Big screen, small screen — what really matters to me is a great story and everyone should have access to great stories. However, I feel people need to have the opportunity to leave the safe and familiar of their lives and go to a place where they can sit in the company of others and have a shared experience — cry together, laugh together, be afraid together — so that when it’s over they might feel a little less like strangers. I want to see the survival of movie theaters. I want the theatrical experience to remain relevant in our culture.

Steven Spielberg also noted that his gripes weren’t with Netflix specifically about producing movies for home viewing, but the various theater chains who have turned the streaming giant away from showing their original films because of the 90-day exclusivity window theaters have been sticking to. He’s advocating for the continuation of the theater experience more than anything, though his comments have previously been characterized as an attack on Netflix and streaming as a medium.

When major chains AMC and Regal rejected the idea of showing Roma in their theaters because of the fact it would be available to stream before the three month period, the filmmaker actually called them up and asked them if they’d make an exception and they refused. Spielberg is only opting for streaming services, theater chains and traditional studios to work together to preserve moviegoing over couch-potatoing. Here’s some of his comments from his infamous speech in February that was part of the “conflict”:

I hope all of us really continue to believe that the greatest contributions we can make as filmmakers is to give audiences the motion picture theatrical experience. I’m a firm believer that movie theaters need to be around forever.

It was said that Spielberg was heading to a board meeting with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday night to change the rule about the current eligibility of streaming service films to be nominated for Oscars, the filmmaker did not attend and no amendments to the rules were made.

While Steven Spielberg has been vocal about his ongoing intentions to preserve the theater experience, his production company Amblin is working on three television series with streaming platforms: Amazon Prime’s Cortes and Moctezuma, Apple’s Amazing Stories and Hulu’s Animaniacs reboot. He is also a Netflix subscriber himself who has binged original content such as The Haunting of Hill House.

The ongoing conflict here seems to primarily be between streaming services and theater chains. Recently reports that Netflix may buy its own theater (The Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard) could signal the start of an expansion in the way the platform does business and makes their films accessible.

Tron: Legacy Producer Is Still Hoping Tron 3 Will Happen Eventually

Tron: Legacy Producer Is Still Hoping Tron 3 Will Happen Eventually

It’s not as uncommon nowadays for a movie to get a sequel decades later. Take 2010’s Tron: Legacy. That movie arrived 28 years after the original Tron movie was released, and the plan was for another sequel to follow after Legacy. However, due to Legacy’s mixed critical reception and underwhelming box office performance, Tron 3 was put on the back burner and now essentially rests in development hell. Nevertheless, Legacy producer Justin Springer is hopeful that Tron 3 will one day actually be made. As he put it:

Look, I will never stop being interested in making a TRON movie. I love the opportunity to do it. It’s a title that never really goes away internally. There’s always people around the company who like it a whole lot. And so, we’ll see what happens. It would be great to get the opportunity to do it again. It’s interesting – what I will say is that I think it continues to be relevant both in its ideas and also just the visual iconography of it. I think people are still are interested in it and it still feels contemporary to me. So it’s just about finding the right time, right script, and the right people at the studio saying ‘yes.’ You know, just the usual.

While Justin Springer’s comments don’t provide any renewed hope that Disney will want to move forward with Tron 3, it’s still good to hear he’s interested in keeping the franchise going. While 1982’s Tron was certainly a visual triumph for its time, Tron: Legacy kicked up several levels with its impressive effects and production design, making it look like a proper Hollywood blockbuster. Alas, who knows if we’ll ever return to the digital realm, although Ehren Kruger, who co-produced Dumbo with Springer, stated during the Slashfilm interview that all Springer needs is for the fans to demand it, “just like last time.” That might not carry the same weight it did a decade ago, but enthusiasm from the fanbase certainly doesn’t hurt.

Tron: Legacy certainly set the stage for Tron 3, mainly with Olivia Wilde’s Quorra, the sole surviving ISO (isomorphic algorithm) from The Grid, being brought back to the real world with Garrett Hedlund’s Sam Flynn, who was planning to take back his father’s company, ENCOM. We were also treated to a minor appearance from Cillian Murphy as Edward Dillinger Jr., whose father was the villain from the first Tron movie, so perhaps Jr. would have followed in those sinister footsteps.

For now though, there’s still no movement on Tron 3, and when asked last year why this threequel never happened, Garrett Hedlund attributed it to Disney getting cold feet following the disappointing performance of 2014’s Tomorrowland. In fact, the Tron franchise as a whole seems to be dormant. Two years after Tron: Legacy came out, the prequel TV series Tron: Uprising aired on Disney XD, but that only lasted a season. In 2017, it was reported that Disney was considering making a Tron reboot instead starring Jared Leto, but that project hasn’t had any traction either. Still, there is a Tron rollercoaster at Shanghai Disneyland and another one is being constructed for Disney World, so the franchise will at least still be somewhat in the public consciousness.

Rest assured, if there’s any news about another Tron movie, we here at CinemaBlend will let you know about it. For now, take a look at what movies are coming out later this year in our 2019 release schedule.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Director Has Big Ideas For What Happens Right After His Movie Ends

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Director Has Big Ideas For What Happens Right After His Movie Ends

Warning: SPOILERS for Godzilla: King of the Monsters are ahead!

The general public wasn’t aware that the Titans existed before the events of Godzilla, but the giant reptile’s clash with the MUTOs changed everything. Five years later, Godzilla’s collision with Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters resulted in even more destruction across the world, and now the public is fully in the loop on these beasts since Monarch shared the information it’d collected about them over the decades.

So how does humanity go forward from here? Obviously we’re not done with Titan fights by a long shot, as Godzilla vs. Kong is less than a year away. But in terms of the overall status quo, Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty told CinemaBlend’s own Jeff McCobb that the population will need to heed the late Dr. Ishiro Serizawa’s (played by Ken Watanabe) advice and make peace with the Titans’ existence. As Dougherty put it:

I feel like humans have no choice but to live by Serizawa’s words, which is that we have to learn how to coexist with the Titans. Now that the genie’s out of the bottle, we have no choice but to accept the fact that mankind is no longer at the top of the food chain.

During Godzilla: King of the Monsters, there was a debate over whether it was better to learn to coexist with the Titans or if we were better off killing them. The U.S. government certainly tried its best to kill both Godzilla and King Ghidorah with its Oxygen Destroyer, but the weapon only seriously harmed Godzilla, with King Ghidorah barely being fazed.

Had Dr. Ishiro Serizawa not sacrificed his life to revive Godzilla so that the reptile could defeat his arch-nemesis once and for all, Earth would be destroyed. So as Thomas Middleditch’s character, Sam Coleman, mentioned early in the movie, there are some Titans that are here to help us, and some that are here to threatens us. It’s great to learn which is which, but humanity now needs to learn that the beasts have been here longer than us and are here to stay.

Judging by the Godzilla: King of the Monsters credits, it looks like a lot of folks are getting used to this. Along with Monarch publishing all its research, it was also revealed that some cruise ships have passed by Godzilla himself, prehistoric plants are popping up that some consider to be “superfood,” and Earth is starting to be healed thanks to the Titans no longer being influenced by King Ghidorah, who wasn’t even native to our world.

Still, that doesn’t mean that everything is all fine and dandy in the MonsterVerse now that King Ghidorah is gone. It was also noted in the Godzilla: King of the Monsters credits that Skull Island has started to become unstable, with many new Titans setting up shop there, which will undoubtedly not sit well with the island’s ruler, King Kong.

This sets the stage for Godzilla vs. Kong, which will see these two behemoths clash for the first time in an American production. While their battle will be the main draw, the fourth MonsterVerse entry will also show Monarch delving into the Titans’ origins and a conspiracy to wipe out these creatures being uncovered.

You can listen to Michael Dougherty’s full remarks about the post-Godzilla: King of the Monsters MonsterVerse in the video below.

Be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and stay tuned for coverage on Godzilla vs. Kong, which hits theaters on March 13, 2020.