Chris Hemsworth Welcomed Deadpool To The MCU In A Great Way

Chris Hemsworth Welcomed Deadpool To The MCU In A Great Way

This week the merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney became official. This makes Disney an even more powerful force in Hollywood than it was before, largely due to the catalog of characters and franchises it just took ownership of. One of those characters is Deadpool and now that he's joined the rest of his Marvel brethren, it seems they're all quite happy to have him on board. Chris Hemsworth seems especially happy, based on the way the Thor actor welcomed both the character and the actor behind him.

Chris Hemsworth shared a piece of fan art on Instagram which shows, what Hemsworth calls, the love child of Thor and Deadpool. It's really just the Merc with a Mouth wearing a funny piece of headgear and carrying a tiny little hammer, because one assumes he couldn't actually lift the full sized one. Also, it appears Deadpool has joined the Avengers, which, considering the trouble DP had with the X-Men, I'm going to guess is not going to go very well.

Looming behind Deadpool are those three little circles that symbolize his new lord and master. The film rights to the character are now back in the hands of Marvel, making him and the rest of Marvel's mutants all characters that could now potentially make their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While this is certainly expected to happen at some point, it's anybody's guess how it will all shake out. Unless somebody had been planning for this eventuality in advance, a movie that actually inserts Deadpool into a story with the Avengers is at least a couple of years away.

It's probably even further off because, while we have no idea what Marvel has in store for the next phase of the MCU, the studio has clearly been working on things and probably isn't looking to throw out all their work in order to start over and add in the X-Men. We could see an entire phase of the MCU, including several films over the next several years, come to pass before anything significant happens to bring these characters together on screen.

That doesn't mean we won't be seeing Deadpool sooner. His movies have been largely standalone stories anyway and they've also been incredibly successful. While the future of Deadpool and the status of the X-Force movie and/or Deadpool 3 hasn't been exactly clear, I would fully expect to see some sort of Ryan Reynolds Deadpool project move forward sooner rather than later. Why would you have this guys sit on the sidelines when there is clearly money to be made?

While Disney is already making a lot of changes on the business side of things following the merger, we probably won't hear a lot about plans on the content side until after the house is order behind the scenes. Though if we can get Taika Waititi to direct a Thor sequel co-starring Ryan Reynolds on the release schedule, I'm in.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Has Screened, Here Are The Early Reactions

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Has Screened, Here Are The Early Reactions

The summer movie season is officially here! Avengers: Endgame set one hell of a precedent, but there's no small amount of movies willing to rise up to take the crown for themselves. Working perfectly with my metaphor, one of those movies is Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which will see a titanic showdown between Godzilla and his arch-nemesis, King Ghidorah. Fans have eagerly been awaiting some kaiju mayhem and it sounds like they are getting their wish.

Early reactions for Godzilla: King of the Monsters are hitting the web and the verdict is almost unanimous: this movie rules. I'll let CinemaBlend's own official Twitter account speak for itself as we throw plenty of praise at the film's action.

It seems like most critics are in agreement over the sequel. If you are looking for non-stop, over-the-top, monster-fighting action, then King of the Monsters is exactly what you are looking for. With Godzilla, Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra, the movie has plenty of action to spare, according to Erik Davis from Fandango.

Those who were left disappointed by 2014's Godzilla will find plenty to love in the sequel. Fans and critics weren't too fond of Godzilla's first outing as there wasn't quite as much monster fighting as expected. The monsters are definitely the stars of the show here, says Andre Meadows of Black Nerd Comedy.

Meadows went on to say that the movie is so full of easter eggs that it's easy to tell the movie was made by people who love Godzilla.

King of the Monsters will have plenty of action, but the film also has a real respect for the Titans (what kaiju are called in the film). According to Paul Shirey from JoBlo, the sequel has a real passion for the Titans and there's no question they are the stars of the show.

Based on the critical reaction, King of the Monsters is exactly what you want from a summer blockbuster. It's loud, ambitious, and blows you away with action on an epic scale. Director Michael Dougherty brought his A-game for this one. With King of the Monsters currently projected to gross more than $50 million opening weekend, this could be one of the summer's most memorable flicks.

Thankfully, we don't have too much longer to wait until Godzilla: King of the Monsters stomps into theaters. The epic sequel arrives on May 31. To learn as much as you can about Godzilla and all his frenemies before then, here's what we know so far.

However, there's a lot more to look forward to this summer. You might be catching Detective Pikachu this weekend, but here's everything else that should be on your radar in our movie release guide. For more movie news, keep it right here at CinemaBlend.

New Avengers: Endgame Trailer Has Iron Man And Captain America Facing Thanos

New Avengers: Endgame Trailer Has Iron Man And Captain America Facing Thanos

The day has finally arrived, with Avengers: Endgame tickets going on sale today. But what would the occasion be without a brand new trailer to get the fans excited for the big finale to The Infinity Saga? Behold, a special look at the conflict to end all conflicts.

With the aftermath of Thanos’ Decimation taking its toll on the team, our surviving Avengers need to resort to desperate measures in order to defeat the Mad Titan. And those measures look like a return to space for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, complete with a reunion of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Seriously, after all of the drama that Captain America: Civil War stirred up, it’s nice to know that a galaxy-wide cataclysm is all it took to make these boys shake hands and make up.

They’re going to need it too, as Thanos is looking as dangerous as ever in Avengers: Endgame. A testament to the quiet menace that has always been given to the character, we finally see some setup for his return to the fray, after supposedly retiring to a quiet corner of the universe following his mass destruction. A little trash talk, a variant of “you missed me so much you came back,” and it’s off to the races for what looks like the largest movie battle of 2019. Are we sure that massive weapon we heard about isn’t just Thanos’s words?

You don’t even need to see any of the fight that’s about to take place to know that something serious is about to rock the arena of Avengers: Endgame. And as if the return of Iron Man and Captain America as a fighting duo wasn’t enough, it looks like this trailer is possibly telling us that Doctor Strange will be back on the team as well. So if this trailer is anything to go by, it looks like the resurrection of those who fell in Avengers: Infinity War will take place before this huge battle royale. For as much as we know about Avengers: Endgame, we didn’t know it was going to absolutely try to break our hearts even more than its predecessor.

It’s been a hell of a ride for Marvel Studios, with 22 films over what will be 11 years this May, and all have lead to the door step of Avengers: Endgame. It truly is a movie event so singular it could never have had another title. Which means that a movie like this needs to be filled with spectacle and heart wrenching moments, and there’s plenty of that in this clip. In addition to Cap telling Tony that he absolutely trusts him in battle, we see emotional reunions between Tony and Pepper, as well as Rocket and Nebula taking the time to bond. And of course, for those of you still stinging from the disappearance of Spider-Man, let Tony’s sad gaze at a photo with him and Peter Parker remind you of that pain this morning.

Avengers: Endgame tickets are on sale now, and will start showing as early as Thursday, 4/25. But if you’re looking to see something out of this world before then, take a look at the 2019 release schedule, and prepare yourself for adventure. Also, make sure you don’t miss a Marvel moment, by checking out the Phase 3 and 4 release schedule as well!

Ben Affleck Still Plans To Make A Sequel To The Accountant

Ben Affleck Still Plans To Make A Sequel To The Accountant

Ben Affleck has ridden some rocky blockbuster waves in recent years, but one film that was really an undeniable success arrived in the fall of 2016. Gavin O'Connor's The Accountant is one of the rare recent original action titles to actually perform really well at the box office, making $155.1 million globally on a $44 million budget. The performance was significant enough to immediately start some sequel chatter, and while we haven't heard much about the project in a minute, it's apparently a project that Affleck is still interested in pursuing.

It was last reported that The Accountant 2 was in the works with Gavin O'Connor returning to direct and Bill Dubuque (the original's screenwriter) taking care of the script, but that was in the summer of 2017. Nearly two year's worth of silence is quite a lot, but thankfully Ben Affleck has now provided us an update, via Collider - explaining that the film is definitely one that he wants to pursue:

Yeah, I hope so. I would love to. We’ve talked about kicking some ideas around, this last movie we just did. We talked to the studio and they seemed interested, and they kind of brought it up so, we’re looking to do that. I think it would be fun. I love Gavin, I love the movie I just did with him. I had a great experience and I love the character in The Accountant. I’d certainly be open to it.

The project that Ben Affleck is referring to is the film Torrance, which completed filming last year. A completely different kind of story and genre than The Accountant, the movie is a sports drama that follows a former star basketball player who tries to get his life back together by becoming the coach of the team at his old high school. The film is produced by Warner Bros. - the same studio behind Affleck and O'Connor's previous collaboration - and while a release date has not yet been announced, one can probably predict that we'll be seeing it come out some time in the fall.

As for The Accountant 2, it's actually a pretty exciting prospect, and right now could be a perfect project for Ben Affleck. Christian Wolff is a legitimately fascinating character - a public accountant with high-functioning autism who moonlights as an assassin - and the first movie really makes for a cool origin story. There are hundreds of stories that could be told with him going forward, and it could become a fun franchise role for the star.

For what it's worth, we might already have an inkling of a plot for the proposed sequel, as Gavin O'Connor talked out some ideas with me when I interviewed him about The Accountant back in 2016. Discussing potential story ideas, he put forward a really dark direction for the world in which Christian Wolff lives, saying,

In the second one, if we're ever fortunate to do it, I keep having this idea of a Catcher in the Rye kind of thing. He's surrounded by children, dealing with slavery and these kids that are sex slaves and things like that... If there's a way to deal with that subject matter and him saving children, that's something I'd be really interested in doing.

For now, though, The Accountant 2 merely exists in theory. Of course, if we get any more details about it you'll be sure to find them here on CinemaBlend.

Why James Gunn’s Brightburn Is Rated R

Why James Gunn’s Brightburn Is Rated R

Currently there are two movie genres especially blowing up box office numbers and discussion amongst moviegoers: superheroes and horror. The upcoming James Gunn-produced film Brightburn will explore a bit of both genres by putting a terrifying spin on the Superman origin story. The horror flick starring David Denman and Elizabeth Banks looks to be leaning a lot more into its horror elements, per the recent release of its rating. Check it out:

Rated R for horror violence/bloody images, and language.

The Motion Picture Association of America has deemed Brightburn with a rating only fit for mature audiences, so get ready for some serious frights and gore. The horror will be set off by a young boy named Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) who mysteriously falls to Earth in a spaceship as a baby, is found by the Breyers and raised as their own. The story is quite reminiscent of Clark Kent, right down to having superpowers such as super strength, flight and heat vision. There’s a twist though: instead of becoming a boy scout superhero who saves the world time after time, the boy starts using his powers to inflict pain on others and looks to become the evil entity of Brightburn.

From the trailers that have been released for Brightburn so far, it looks terrifying. So it doesn’t come as much of a surprise the flick would receive an R-rating ahead of its spring release. The footage sees Brandon transform from an unassuming kid who is bullied to one who resorts to violently breaking the hand of a classmate and testing the limits of his powers. Once he gets the gist of his strength, he starts to use it to wreak havoc on people all over town in a red mask, even putting in danger his adopted parents.

Brightburn was written by James Gunn’s two brothers Mark and Brianz and is directed by David Yarovesky, who helmed The Hive in 2014. As mentioned earlier, Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn is also on as producer for this intriguing take on a familiar origin story that is usually much more innocent. The movie certainly looks to be a fun take on the Superman story that flips it on its head and goes for a much more mature and frighteningly dark tale. How else will it use its comic book roots, I wonder?

Brightburn was originally set to come out in fall of 2018, but with the controversy surrounding James Gunn's firing from Disney possibly factoring in, the film was pushed back to May 24, alongside the live-action remake of Aladdin. Since the date shift, Gunn has been hired to helm The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros and rehired for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, putting the filmmaker’s name in much better condition to be slapped on marketing for Brightburn, beside the many other exciting 2019 releases coming this spring.

Dumbo Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of The Disney Live-Action Remake

Dumbo Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of The Disney Live-Action Remake

Disney's next big live-action remake of its animated classics is here in the form of Dumbo. For the most part, Disney has had great success with both critics and fans when it comes to these remakes, but here at CinemaBlend, we're not quite sure that Dumbo is going to be the next big Disney hit. Feelings are pretty mixed here between those that feel Dumbo is a fun time spent with a very cute elephant, and those that feel the film simply fails to soar.

News Director Jessica Rawden wrote the official CinemaBlend review and while she gave it only a slight recommendation at three stars out of five, she found the film to have more going for it than against it, saying...

Although not flawless, Dumbo is genuinely enjoyable, deliciously dark and yet appropriate for kids of most ages.

The original Disney animated classic ends at the point when the world discovers that Dumbo can fly. In the new live-action version, that's only the beginning. The revelation that a circus has a flying elephant, obviously, makes the big eared pachyderm a major attraction, but it also draws the attention of others, like theme park impresario V.A. Vandevere, played by Michael Keaton. Colin Ferrell stars as the World War I vet who returns to the circus he left to find himself, and his children, put in a position to care for the baby elephant.

The one thing potentially more surprising than Disney choosing Dumbo for the remake treatment at all may have been the decision to hire Tim Burton to direct the film. Burton is known for his bringing a very dark tone to his films, and while some Disney movies have their dark moments, Dumbo isn't the first one you might think of, (although the Pink Elephants sequence is the stuff of little kids' nightmares).

Staff writer Mike Reyes felt that Dumbo was a return to form for Burton, showing us a side we haven't seen in a long time.

Tim Burton's remake of Dumbo is absolutely beautiful. While it takes a little while to get off the ground, this family drama shows the power of community, and the magic of personal belief, in a way that Burton himself hasn't shown the world in some time. This film doesn't feel like a modern cash-in, but a reimagining that takes the heart of the original and honors it with the depth it deserves.

On the whole, CinemaBlend project manager Cody Beck felt that Burton's take on the material worked, largely thanks to another solid score from longtime Burton collaborator Danny Elfman and some of the best CGI we've seen to date.

I was curious going in how the remake would handle the story and not surprisingly, Dumbo is pretty dark for a PG Movie- but that should be expected from Tim Burton. The CGI is top notch. Michael Keaton is unhinged and entertaining. A few lines and characters were a little flat with the delivery, but overall, it was a heartfelt good time. And, of course, Danny Elfman crushes it, as usual.

While some at CinemaBlend felt that the good outweighed the rougher parts of Dumbo, not everybody here agrees. Events Editor Eric Eisenberg felt that, while there were certainly some positive elements, the film as a whole just ended up average as a result. Certainly not the worst of the Disney remakes, but not the best by a long shot. According to Eric...

The live-action versions of animated Disney classics have run the gamut in terms of quality thus far, and Tim Burton's Dumbo basically lands square in the middle of that scale. It has its moments of wonder, as well as some remarkable cuteness, but it also isn't tremendously substantial. One certainly has to appreciate it's level of chutzpah to, as it's surprisingly bold in the way it takes direct aim at the studio that created it.

From there, however, we get to the voices who felt the Dumbo crashed and burned more than he flew. CB's Braden Roberts felt that for a movie that was designed to be a spectacle, there just wasn't anything there to wow the audience...

Dumbo left me a bit dissapointed. The movie, at its core, is a spectacle. However, it’s a shallow and lack-luster display that fails to capitalize on director Tim Burton’s signature weirdness. A few one liners had me chuckling but ultimately Dumbo left me uninspired for future live-action Disney remakes.

Disappointment is apparently the word of the day, as CinemaBlend Managing Director Sean O'Connell used the exact same word to open his comments about Dumbo. In the end, a remake needs to do something to justify the decision to remake it, and in his eyes Dumbo failed to do that.

Dumbo disappoints. Like a few of the live-action remakes that have preceded it, Dumbo failed to convince me, over the course of its run time, that it needed to exist. It trades on the mild nostalgia that the audience has for its main character, but never figures out its own reason for being. Tim Burton also was the wrong choice, as his macabre instincts make for a too-dark "family" story that's hampered by overly-broad performances and under-developed characters. A misfire from the House of Mouse.

As for me, I land somewhere on the "slightly positive" side of the big top. I appreciated the fact that Dumbo was actually more sequel than remake, something future films in this vein might consider, and I think the movie should be absolutely commended for making one particular decision that just blew me away for most of the film (no spoilers). I do also think that while the film does have dark elements, for a certain generation of kids, this movie could be one of those films they watch on an endless loop. For the older set, however, it's not going to become a new Disney classic. In the end, it reminded me of another Disney remake that I appreciated, but didn't love...

Dumbo suffers from what I will call the "Maleficent Effect." Somebody had a bold, bordering on insane, idea for a movie that feels ultimately hamstrung by the need to waste screen time retelling the plot of the original Disney movie.

Few at CinemaBlend are likely to tell their friends to rush out and see Dumbo, though some would certainly recommend seeing it, one way or another. It has elements worth appreciating, but it's not likely to be a memorable Disney remake, even if you're only comparing it to the films coming out this year.

Why Daisy Ridley Loves Rey's Shot At The Start Of The Rise Of Skywalker Trailer

Why Daisy Ridley Loves Rey's Shot At The Start Of The Rise Of Skywalker Trailer

After over a year of anticipation and speculation, the first trailer for the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, was revealed last month at the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago. As expected, the The Rise of Skywalker reveal has only increased anticipation and speculation from fans as the release date approaches at the end of the year.

There's especially a lot of interest surrounding Rey, who is in possession of Luke Skywalker’s legendary lightsaber and showed off a badass flip to dodge Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer. The scene is a standout moment from The Rise of Skywalker teaser. Daisy Ridley recently gushed about her character’s presence in the record-breaking trailer, even nudging at its significance to the upcoming installment. In her words:

It’s nice having that shot at the beginning of the teaser, because I think it’s quite a good visual representation of where she is now: confident, calm, less fearful.… It’s still sort of overwhelming, but in a different way. It feels more right—less like inevitable and more like there’s a focus to the journey.

When Rey was introduced in The Force Awakens, she was discovering her powers and starting her journey that has since had her training the ways of the Jedi with Luke and going head-to-head with Kylo Ren. After finding her place with the resistance, Episode IX looks to show her with a more defined role in the story and with more control over her strengths. It’ll be exciting to see Rey finally shine to the best of her abilities now that she really knows what she’s capable of!

There are some other questions floating around concerning Rey as well though. The Last Jedi revealed that Rey is not a Skywalker, she’s the daughter of “no one,” i.e. her parents were insignificant. After the divisive response of Episode VIII, some think the film will retcon some of Rian Johnson’s choices, including Rey’s lineage. J.J. Abrams did recently tease that there is more to the story then what was revealed in The Last Jedi, so the film will likely explore her past more in depth.

A key reason for fans’ speculation that Rey is actually a Skywalker after all is the film’s title, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about the upcoming release, and may details will likely be under wraps until the movie hits theaters. Another loose end fans will be looking to be addressed is the fate of Rey and Kylo’s relationship. While some have dreamt up a budding romance, Daisy Ridley has voiced her disinterest in this because of the emotional abuse and violence Kylo has shown.

Per Daisy Ridley's words to Vanity Fair, The Rise of Skywalker will show off a more confident and capable Rey. Daisy Ridley returns alongside John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson and Kelly Marie Tran when the Star Wars conclusion hits theaters on December 20.