The Important Role Monarch Will Play In Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

The Important Role Monarch Will Play In Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

Naturally the main reason one goes to a Godzilla movie is to see the eponymous creature fight other monsters, but it’s also important to have human characters involved to anchor the story. In the MonsterVerse franchise, most of those humans are part of or affiliated with Monarch, which has studied these Titans for nearly three-quarters of a century.

While 2014’s Godzilla and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island provided some information on Monarch, this month’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters pulling the curtain back even further on this organization. I recently interviewed King of the Monsters production designer Scott Chambliss, and he explained that Monarch’s headquarters is representative of the clash between man and nature in the movie. Speaking about the inspiration for designing these headquarters, Chambliss said:

Our story boiled down to its most essential archetype is one of man vs. nature, and the Monarch HQ was the perfect environment in which to visually express this. Located deep in the heart of an oceanic mountain miles below the water’s surface, Monarch brought together all the human and technological engineering firepower conceivable to house its monumental and labyrinthine HQ within an utterly hostile environment...one that didn’t even exist until they created the initial negative void itself.

Although Kong: Skull Island’s post-credits scenes showed Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson’s characters being held inside one of Monarch’s interrogation rooms, that’s hardly a good look into the kind of work space the agency’s employees operate in. Fortunately, Godzilla: King of the Monsters will not have that issue, and clearly Monarch is not lacking for funds if it can set up its headquarters within an underwater mountain.

More importantly, though, is how Godzilla: King of the Monsters reflects the core archetype through both the artificial elements making up Monrach’s base and its natural home. Scott Chambliss provided additional details about what to expect from the headquarters, saying:

Within the compound you see evidence of both: the technologically advanced monitoring, scientific, and manufacturing floors expressed in the language of advanced fortified architecture within the larger and very visible raw volcanic rock volume that houses it. This isn’t the kind of metaphoric visualizing that is intended to be showily theatrical. It is instead a presentation of starkly contrasting ingredients- raw, powerful nature and utterly refined human engineering- which is by itself an interpretation of our archetype. I’m very curious to see if this translates into the final film in any meaningful way.

In the present day MonsterVerse, the two main representatives of Monarch have been Ken Watanabe’s Ishiro Serizawa and Sally Hawkins’ Vivienne Graham. Both will be back for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and in addition to meeting some of their other coworkers, we finally get to see the kind of environment they’re in when not doing fieldwork.

Scott Chambliss also confirmed that it was incredibly difficult to put together the Monarch headquarters set. As he put it:

The great volume of Monarch HQ made it by far the most demanding build of our movie. All the scenic and technical arts of set creation were employed here, down to robotic set dressing components. A large number of complicated parts working together comprised our final Monarch HQ world.

It’s hard to say just how much time Godzilla: King of the Monsters is spending inside the Monarch headquarters, and obviously the main draw of this latest MonsterVerse tale is witnessing Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah collide out in the open. Still, considering how little we’ve learned about the organization, it’s cool to see Monarch will have a bigger presence for this third entry.

Along with Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins reprising their roles, Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ main cast includes Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, g, Bradley Whitford, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson, David Strathairn and Zhang Ziyi. Michael Dougherty directed and co-wrote the script with Zach Shields.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters rampages into theaters on May 31, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. In the meantime, head to our 2019 release schedule to find out what movies are coming out later in the year.

Why Thor Changed So Much In Avengers: Endgame, According To The Writers

Why Thor Changed So Much In Avengers: Endgame, According To The Writers

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame. If you haven't seen the latest Marvel blockbuster, look away!

Avengers: Endgame arrived in theaters ahead of last weekend, and the internet is current buzz with the massive blockbuster's many surprising moments. The Russo Brothers crafted an emotional movie that kept the fandom on its toes, providing endless plot twists and a movie that should be void of bathroom breaks.

Chris Hemsworth's Thor was the subject of a fair amount of twists, including a drastic physical transformation. Following Endgame's five year time jump, it was revealed that the God of Thunder was wallowing in the time since decapitating Thanos, becoming an overweight alcoholic in the process. It's an unexpected change to the character that stuck throughout the course of Endgame's runtime, and the film's writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely recently explained his twist, saying:

MARCUS: Thor’s on a mission of vengeance. And then we were like, he was on a mission of vengeance in the last movie. This is all this guy ever does! And fails, all the time. Let’s drive him into a wall and see what happens.

McFEELY: He just got drunk and fat.

Well, this does make sense. Thor might have been progressing as a character throughout his long tenure in the MCU, but the guy hasn't had the easiest run. He's lost everything, so it make sense that he would hit rock bottom after his encounters with Thanos.

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's comments to The New York Times help to explain how one of the strongest Avengers ended up letting himself go so hard. When the plan to use time travel first comes to fruition, they need to assemble the surviving heroes. Rocket and Bruce Banner travel to New Asgard, and find a Thor that has more interest in Fortnite than saving the galaxy or ruling his people.

His physical transformation is a shocking moment in the movie, as is the fact that The Russo Brothers maintain his new body until his final moments onscreen. Its a constant reminder of how far Thor's character has changed since his first appearance, and how he's truly lost everyone. Besides Korg that is.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Thor spoke with Rocket about all that the God of Thunder had already lost at that point. Odin passed on, while Frigga, Loki, and Heimdell were all brutally murdered. What's more, Thor: Ragnarok saw the destruction of Asgard itself, so his mystical home is gone forever. All he had left was the thirst for vengeance, and wanting to kill Thanos.

And he very nearly did it. He ultimately plunged Stormbreaker into Thanos' chest, gloating over his moment of vengeance in the process. But he didn't aim for the head, and Thanos snapped his fingers and wiped out half the galaxy. That guilt weighed on Thor (literally), and it took some convincing for him to return to The Avengers and join the wild time heist.

Related: Tessa Thompson Says Taika Waititi Might Return For Thor 4

It should be interesting to see what comes next for Thor, as the future of the MCU is largely a mystery. Chris Hemsworth's contract with Marvel Studios is up, but Thor made it out of Endgame with his life. He seemingly joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, although that might have just been his way back into space before a possible fourth Thor movie. We'll just have to wait and see whenever the studio finally unveils its plans for the future post-Endgame.

Thor has already changed quite a bit throughout his long tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While his father Odin originally exiled him from Asgard due to his immaturity, he proved time and time again to be one of the bravest members of The Avengers. Sure, he's retained his ego and can sometimes be a bit head strong, but Thor has demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good.

But ultimately Thor wasn't one of the OG Avengers who lost their life during the course of Avengers: Endgame. Instead, he'll presumably be given some chance to return in the post-Endgame world. And that's probably the right call for Marvel Studios, considering the character was given new life and fan excitement following Thor: Ragnarok and Infinity War.

Taika Waititi broke all the rule with his Thor threequel, destroying Asgard, the Warrior's Three, Odin, and Mjolnir in the process. He also took the character into new locations in space, pairing him with Hulk and Loki in the process. What's more, a series of colorful characters were introduced including Valkyrie and Korg.

The newcomers briefly popped back up in Avengers: Endgame, revealing that the surviving Asgardians are living peacefully on Earth. When the film ended, Thor seems to have given over the reigns of leadership to Tessa Thompson Valkyrie, but what does that mean? Could she ended up wielding the character's power as a female Thor? Or should we expect Val and Korg to pop up in Thor 4?

There's no guarantee that Thor 4 will come to fruition, although fans would love to see Chris Hemsworth have another collaboration with Taika Waititi. Tessa Thompson previously teased that talks are happening at Marvel Studios, although nothing is set in stone and she's not sure what comes next for Valkyrie after Endgame.

The final moments of Avengers: Endgame also seemingly tease that Thor will join the Guardians of the Galaxy, following their chemistry in Infinity War. It's a crossover fans will go bonkers over, so hopefully Marvel Studios will reveal its plans sooner rather than later. The God of Thunder has a particular bond with Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon, so hopefully that's a character pairing we'll see more of in Phase Four.

But since Avengers: Endgame is in theaters, hopefully that means Marvel will reveal its plans soon. Of course, Spider-Man: Far From Home is only a few months away, so the studio may want to wait until after that release before unveiling the next phase of films.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now, and making tons of money at the box office. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Captain Marvel Almost Included A Tie-In To Thor: Ragnarok

Captain Marvel Almost Included A Tie-In To Thor: Ragnarok

Spoilers ahead for Captain Marvel. If you haven't seen the latest Marvel blockbuster, turn away!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a serious roll in Phase Three, as every blockbuster has been a critical and financial success. While all eyes are on how the narrative will conclude with the apocalyptic story Avengers: Endgame, Carol Danvers was finally given her origin story last weekend with Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel. With plenty of familiar faces in the cast, the movie has an interesting connection to the greater MCU, although it almost included a great reference to Thor: Ragnarok.

With the movie finally in theaters, Captain Marvel's pair of directors can get a bit more chatty about the film's contents. After all, Marvel security is no joke. When crafting the film's conclusion and end-credits scene, they almost put Jude Law's villainous Yon-Rogg on the scrap planet of Sakaar from Ragnarok. As Ryan Fleck recently revealed:

There was an idea on the table about having Jude Law […] emerge from his pod on Sakaar and then have him look around and see the Devil's Anus behind him and wonder, 'Where the hell am I?'

Is anyone else's FOMO going through the roof right now? Because while Captain Marvel had its own quirky end credits scene, this scrapped connection to the Thor threequel would have sent fans through the roof. Especially the inclusion of the Devil's Anus.

Ryan Fleck's comments to Empire Online shows how collaborative the process at Marvel Studios actually is. While fans see a streamlined finished product and phases of new releases, the filmmakers still have the opportunity to play and mold each individual blockbuster. This includes the credits scenes, which have become a beloved tradition in the MCU.

Thor: Ragnarok was a game changer for Chris Hemsworth's franchise, a Taika Waititi brought a ton of comedy and new cosmic locations to the table. Sakaar was a major setting in the threequel, as the God of Thunder and Hulk were trapped on the trash heap planet, and forced to start a revolution to escape and return to Asgard. The Devil's Anus (lol) was a massive wormhole on Sakaar, which would have served as the perfect setting for Yon-Rogg to end up on if the original plans for Captain Marvel's ending came to fruition.

Ultimately, Yon-Rogg's fate was left unclear, likely so Jude Law's character might pop back up in a potential sequel. He was sent back to Hala to warn the Supreme Intelligence, with that conflict presumably keeping Carol Danvers busy for the decades until she pops up in Avengers: Endgame. And Goose was given one final gag during the post-credits scene.

Captain Marvel is in theaters now, and Brie Larson will return to the MCU when Avengers: Endgame arrives on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Tom Holland Explains Why He Missed The Avengers: Endgame Premiere

Tom Holland Explains Why He Missed The Avengers: Endgame Premiere

Did we make it? Tonight millions will see Avengers: Endgame on the big screen for the first time on opening night. For many going out to see the superhero epic, it’s all about going out to see it before we stumble on spoilers online. (Pro tip: Avoid the comment section, that’s how Force Awakens was ruined for me back in 2015.)

While it will certainly be tough for fans to keep quiet about Endgame once it comes out, imagine the stress the star-studded cast of the franchise who have had to remain tight-lipped about the blockbuster for YEARS. Especially, poor ‘ole Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo, who have proven that secrets aren’t the safest under their protection in the past.

Have no fear! The Russo Brothers seemed to have taken extra measures to keep Holland from having loose lips about the highly-anticipated flick: he died in Infinity War, therefore wasn’t part of the Endgame press tour and was not present at the Los Angeles premiere on Monday. While many would guess Spidey just wasn’t invited to keep him from spilling any Endgame details, looks like he was just tied up on another film set. Holland took to his Instagram (via People) to explain:

Hey everyone. I just wanted to do a little message and say sorry I wasn’t at the premiere last night. I’m here in Alabama — not I’m not, I’m in Atlanta — shooting Chaos Walking.

It’s a better excuse than what the world was already thinking! Chaos Walking is a post-apocalyptic thriller also starring Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley, Nick Jonas, Cynthia Erivo and David Oyelowo about a world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each other's’ thoughts. The film is undergoing major reshoots after initial cuts were reportedly deemed “unreleasable”. Tom Holland continued his message with these words:

I noticed on the red carpet that there was a thank you cam for all our fans, our amazing fans, so I wanted to do my own and say thank you for letting me be part of this amazing Marvel journey. It’s really changed my life and I could’ve never imagined this would happen to me. So, thank you so much.

Tom Holland’s Marvel journey started with the Russos when he was cleverly introduced in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War before getting his own flick in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and reprising his role in Infinity War. So of course he wanted to be there and would have been welcome if he wasn’t half across the U.S. working on another project.

There’s a solid reason why many might have been under the impression he just wasn’t invited. Remember that time when he yelled “I’m alive!” in a theater full of people who had not yet seen Infinity War? For Endgame he wasn’t trusted with a script, just his own lines. We do know one thing… we’ll be seeing Spidey again after Endgame, since he’ll return for Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 3.

Jared Leto Explains Why He’s So Excited To Play A Vampire In Morbius

Jared Leto Explains Why He’s So Excited To Play A Vampire In Morbius

Although Jared Leto’s return to the DCEU as The Joker may is looking slim these days, with Joaquin Phoenix soon taking on the role in a standalone movie, the actor will be playing a comic book villain on the Marvel side. Following the massive success of Sony’s first Spider-Verse installment, Venom, Leto will star as anti-hero Morbius the Living Vampire.

In the midst of filming Morbius in London ahead of the title’s summer 2020 release date, Jared Leto has shared why playing a vampire has always been an interest of his with these words:

When I was a kid, I remember being at my grandmother’s house in Louisiana and the original OG would come on and just being pretty transfixed as some many of us were when we saw that. And then the Anne Rice era was big for my brother and I. We passed those books around to each other.

During his childhood, Jared Leto loved watching classic vampire movies, perhaps including 1931's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. He was also an avid reader of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles novels, which were adapted to film in the form of 1994’s Interview with the Vampire and 2002’s Queen of the Damned.

The actor also cited Gary Oldman’s Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stroker’s Dracula from 1992 as a favorite, along with fellow vampire films The Hunger and Thirst. In the Variety interview, he did admit to skipping over Hollywood’s last popular vampire franchise, the Twilight movies, because he was “just too damn old.”

Morbius is a villain who popped up in the Spider-Man comic books in the ‘70s. He was originally Dr. Michael Morbius, a biochemist who attempts to cure his rare blood condition by using a serum made of vampire bat DNA. The treatment results in Morbius taking on traits of a vampire such as having bloodthirst, an aversion to light, super strength, super speed and healing abilities.

The film will also star Adria Arjona from Triple Frontier as Martine Bancroft, who is his fiancée in the comics. Doctor Who’s Matt Smith as the film’s villain, Loxias Crown, who is Morbius’ best friend and also suffers from the same blood disease. Jared Harris will play a mentor to Morbius and Tyrese Gibson will play an FBI agent on the vampire’s blood red trail.

Morbius is the beginning of Sony’s big plans to create their own Marvel universe based on Spider-Man characters. Following the success of the MCU from Disney and Warner Bros’ DCEU, the rival studio wants to use its Marvel rights to their full potential and reportedly has the next eight years mapped out with Spider-Verse movies and television shows underway.

Jared Leto’s vampire character is set to hit theaters on July 31, 2020. Are you excited to see him take on his next villainous role this time from Marvel? Sound off in the comments below.

Watch Zachary Levi Lose His Mind Over Shazam! Toys

Watch Zachary Levi Lose His Mind Over Shazam! Toys

The DC live-action universe has already had plenty of peaks and valleys, although things appear to be on the upswing. Warner Bros. is currently surfing on the massive success of James Wan's Aquaman, with a sequel and spinoff already being developed by the studio. The next release coming down the pipeline is Shazam! which looks to have a tone unique to anything else from the genre. Early reception for Shazam! has been overwhelmingly popular, especially focused on the performance by Zachary Levi as the title character.

Thor alum Zachary Levi is playing the superheroic half of Shazam, and must maintain a sense of childlike wonder throughout the upcoming blockbuster. Luckily, that doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Because the actor was recently given the chance to play with merchandise from the movie, and went bonkers with excitement. Check it out below.

I mean, come on. Just from this clip, you can see how Zachary Levi ended up being cast as the title character of Shazam! He's living his best life as a DC superhero, and is particularly tickled with all the merch in his likeness. Because who doesn't want to be an action figure?

The above video shows Zachary Levi feasting his eyes on Shazam! toys for the very first time. They include a large action figure, a smaller one, a chest plate, as well as his collectible Funko Pop doll. They all make Levi freak out for different reasons, and his excitement is a bit contagious. For instance, he seems pleased as punch that his action figure has plenty of points of articulation, and is super flexible. Meanwhile, merely having his own Funko Pop is giving the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actor reason to cheer.

Zachary Levi also seems excited for how well his likeness was captured on his action figures. While toy faces can sometimes deviate from the real actor's appearance as they're produced in mass, Levi seems to think they nailed it for Shazam!'s toys. But perhaps the biggest reaction came from the Shazam chest plate, which makes noises and lights up, giving its owners the powers of lightning in the process.

Overall, this video just proves how Zachary Levi was the only choice to play the superheroic title character of Shazam! His childlike wonder was already obvious in the film's trailer, as 14 year old Billy Batson struggles with his myriad abilities. But acting jazzed about becoming a superhero might not have been much of a stretch for Levi, as he's been giddy throughout the process.

Luckily for the fans, Shazam! will arrive in theaters in about a month, so it won't be much longer to wait until Zachary Levi's DC debut finally arrives. Levi is no stranger to the superhero genre, having played Fandral in the last two Thor movies. But his character never really got fleshed out, so Levi was happy to be killed off in Ragnarok so he could pivot to DC and lead his very own franchise. Not a bad deal.

Shazam! will arrive in theaters on April 5th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Why James Wan Probably Won’t Direct Another Conjuring Universe Movie, According To Peter Safran

Why James Wan Probably Won’t Direct Another Conjuring Universe Movie, According To Peter Safran

James Wan has an impressive history when it comes to launching and contributing to franchises, but he also notably doesn’t stick around in the director’s chair for very long with them. Going back to the start of his career, he’s brought us Saw, Insidious, and chapters of both Fast & Furious and the DC Extended Universe, but of all the direct follow-ups to those movies (a total of 11), he’s only directed two.

This is a trend that most recently continued with the developing Conjuring 3, with Michael Chaves (The Curse Of La Llorona) set to replace Wan after he directed the first two chapters in the series. This was seen as disappointing, if not unsurprising news, but now a bit of salt is being put in the wound, as producer Peter Safran has gone on the record saying that he believes the filmmaker’s time helming Conjuring Universe titles in general is probably at an end:

I don't think he will [direct another Conjuring movie]. That’s just me. My instinct is that he won’t. I think he really left everything out on the field with Conjuring 2. Just being by his side as he made that movie, I feel that he put everything that he'd learned up to that point into that film, from character development to scares to crafting sequences, just everything. I love the movie and I think that he felt like he did it, he really showed people exactly what he wanted to show them. The skills of a filmmaker telling a great story.

The subject of James Wan’s future with the Conjuring Universe was one that surfaced when I joined a small group of journalists to visit the set of the in-production Annabelle Comes Home on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California late last year. After having toured the Warren home and interviewed some of the lead actresses, we had the chance to sit down with Peter Safran and get his thoughts and opinions about the Annabelle trilogy-capper, and it was at the end of the conversation that the Wan question came up.

Peter Safran and James Wan have a built a solid working relationship, having made six films together in the last six years, so when the former expresses a particular read about the latter, it’s probably based on strong intuition. Furthermore, he definitely has a great beat on what the future holds for The Conjuring Universe, as he has produced every title released as part of the franchise so far.

On beyond the fact that James Wan seems to have a certain “rarely look back” perspective, Peter Safran brings up some really great points about The Conjuring 2. That movie is a beautiful and seriously scary piece of work, and one could definitely see why Wan may not feel compelled to return to the universe as a director going forward, instead pursuing other creative endeavors (like, perhaps, the developing Aquaman 2… which hasn’t yet nailed Wan down to direct just yet).

Of course, many in this situation would point out that it’s typically never smart to ever say “never” in this industry, as circumstances change all the time in Hollywood, and tomorrow James Wan could be struck with an idea he feels he must personally execute. Peter Safran most definitely left this possibility on the board with his answer, making particular note of Wan’s close relationship with the horror genre over the last 15 years. Said the producer,

I would be surprised if he ended up doing another one, but you never know. Guys like James, for him scares, it's in their blood. They need an outlet for it at some point, so maybe he is getting it as a producer. There is something very compelling about sitting there just wanting to scare the shit out of people.

Even if he’s not directing, James Wan’s relationship with The Conjuring Universe is as strong as ever, as he has produced every sequel and spin-off that has been made thus far, including the upcoming Annabelle Comes Home. We’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds.

On the subject of the third Annabelle film, it will be arriving in a theater near you very soon, as it is set up to be a nice summer scare-fest with its June 28th release date. Written and directed by Gary Dauberman (who makes his directorial debut after scripting all of the Annabelles and The Nun), the story is set over the course of one night as Judy Warren (McKenna Grace) and her babysitter (Madison Iseman) are tormented by the movie’s titular doll. Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, and Katie Sarife co-star.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stories from my Annabelle Comes Home set visit, so be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend over the next few days for more!