How Terminator: Dark Fate Might Be Setting Up The Next John Connor

How Terminator: Dark Fate Might Be Setting Up The Next John Connor

The practice of time travel can be a bit confusing, especially when you’re trying to maintain the status quo over several divergent sequels. Terminator: Dark Fate seems to have learned that lesson pretty handily, as the film not only deftly ignores any sequels past Terminator 2: Judgement Day, it also seems to set up a new twist right in its first trailer.

Namely, it looks like Terminator: Dark Fate is going to give the world the next John Connor, and we don’t mean a new actor stepping into the role. We’re talking an entirely new savior that’ll lead humanity into victory against the machines. Before we go any further, take a look at the Terminator: Dark Fate trailer below, and get a look at the future of the Terminator franchise.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s dig in to see what Terminator: Dark Fate could be trying to tell us about the series’ next steps.

What The Terminator: Dark Fate Trailer Tells Us

In the trailer to Terminator: Dark Fate, we see two characters trying to protect the new character of Dani Ramos, played by Natalia Reyes. As the trailer begins, we see her palling around with Mackenzie Davis’ Grace, who looks to be either a Terminator that’s doing a really good job of pretending its human, or a human/machine hybrid. But as things progress, a familiar face comes out of the smoke: Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor.

Both of these characters have knowledge of the future, but with Terminator: Dark Fate ignoring everything past Terminator 2: Judgement Day, there’s the problem of Sarah’s vision of the future being different from Grace’s. So we don’t know how this new future is going to pan out, save for the fact that we’re still fighting Skynet. As such, the two have questions for each other, as seen in the trailer. In particular, we see Grace asking why Sarah Connor would be so fixated on protecting Dani.

Which leads to a couple of key lines that stand out, each pointing to a different scenario than that of what we’ve seen in the Terminator saga. And both of those lines center around Dani and her implied role in the future war against Skynet and its legion of robots. The lines are from those very characters sworn to protect her, with each one suggesting a different possibility. We’ll start with the first scenario, in which Dani Ramos could be the new savior of humanity after Terminator: Dark Fate.

Dani Ramos Is The New Savior Of Humanity

Part of the Terminator: Dark Fate trailer sees our three leads, Grace, Sarah, and Dani all riding on the roof of a train, with Dani asking the question, “How do we win?” This is more than likely a reference to the future rise of the machines, and the war that will put humanity back on the map.

Mackenzie Davis’ Grace responds to this question very simply, by saying, “We win by keeping you alive.” Automatically, the John Connor scenario feels fresh and new, as Dani Ramos is now the most important human to keep alive. Quite possibly, she’s the new savior of humanity, with the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day rounding off the importance of the Connor family line in the franchise.

Again, the future that would have happened post-T2 is now obsolete, so there’s a good chance that John Connor might not be as important as he used to be. This hypothesis is only supported by the suggestion that Terminator: Dark Fate will set up Dani as the character to hold down the Terminator franchise, should there be future films past this one. Of course, there’s another possibility that puts Dani at the center of it all; a more traditional scenario that might bring things back to a more familiar set of stakes.

The New Savior Will Be Dani Ramos’ Child

The other line of dialogue that seems to stick out quite prominently in Terminator: Dark Fate so far comes from when Linda Hamilton’ Sarah Connor is asked by Grace why she cares about Dani Ramos’ fate. Sarah, being the ever conscientious bad ass, replies in one simple, poignant statement: “Because I was her.”

Outside of the whole scenario involving killing machines from the future trying to kill her (and a protector of humanity trying to save her), this could mean that Dani is carrying the child that will win the war on Skynet-- much like Sarah Connor did at the end of The Terminator. Seeing this situation for herself, and remembering how Kyle Reese saved her in 1985, would only endear Sarah to Dani and make her swear to protect the new mother of humanity’s last hope.

Both this scenario, and the one where Dani is the new savior of humanity, could use a little more evidence to boost their cases. But there’s another potential solution, one that might keep John Connor in the picture as well as make Dani Ramos a new person of importance.

One Of John Connor’s Lieutenants Could Be Dani Ramos

If Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines should be credited for anything, it’s two things. First is the surprise ending where Judgement Day is actually proven to be inevitable. Additionally, there was the strategy of killing John Connor’s future lieutenants in the human resistance, before taking him out as the ultimate insurance policy. And one of those very plot lines might make its way into Terminator: Dark Fate, as Dani Ramos could be an important part to John’s war strategy.

This scenario works if the Terminator series is still dependent on John Connor being a crucial part of the story. Though considering the places his character has been taken in previous (now non-canonical entries) it wouldn’t be a surprise if the character was dumped; there’s very little that can be done and still be considered new regarding John.

Should John Connor still very much be a part of the Terminator mythos, bringing in the people that would be vital to keeping our future safe is a good idea that hasn’t seen a lot of play in the universe. So it could easily be brought back to the table to keep things fresh, and give Dani an important role to play in an expansion of the classic franchise in Terminator: Dark Fate.

It’s going to be a while before we can confirm any of these theories to be true. But what we can say at the moment is that Terminator: Dark Fate is most definitely looking to take the franchise in a fresh direction, and the wait to see if any of these guesses pan out will hopefully be time well spent. Time will tell, but for now, we’ll keep our eyes and ears open to see what new clues surface on the horizon, as we puzzle out the dark fate that the Terminator franchise seems to be suggesting.

Terminator: Dark Fate creates the new fate of the Terminator franchise on November 1.

Viola Davis Officially Returning As Waller For The Suicide Squad

Viola Davis Officially Returning As Waller For The Suicide Squad

DC's live-action universe has had a fascinating tenure in theaters, with plenty of twists and turns accompanying each blockbuster. During the DCEU's early stages, Warner Bros. failed to acquire a true critical and box office darling. Batman v Superman, Justice League, and Suicide Squad all failed to live up to their expectations, and it seemed like the behemoth franchise was in jeopardy. But DC seems to have course correct, focusing less on crossovers and serialized storytelling and more on individual director-driven blockbusters.

Just look at The Suicide Squad, which will be written and directed by Guardians of the Galaxy visionary James Gunn. Gunn will take on the titular team of villains from David Ayer, who helmed the somewhat disappointing first film. Gunn has been focused on bringing his cast together, featuring both newcomers and returning players from Suicide Squad. And now another returning face has joined the new project, as Viola Davis will reportedly reprise her role as Amanda Waller.

This news comes to us from The Wrap, as the publication has contacts with someone close to production. While Viola Davis' involvement hasn't been officially confirmed by the studio, it's a development that should get DC fans very excited. Because while not every aspect of the first Suicide Squad was successful, Davis brought a tenacity and ruthlessness to Amanda Waller that the next movie would be remiss to exclude.

If the report is to be believed, Viola Davis is the second Suicide Squad actor to officially sign on for James Gunn's developing movie. She joins Jai Courtney, who played the rowdy Captain Boomerang in the first film. It's also widely believed that Margot Robbie will return to play Harley Quinn for the third time, although that hasn't been officially confirmed by the studio yet.

Viola Davis returning as Amanda Waller potentially provides The Suicide Squad with an enemy for the titular team of villains to face off again. David Ayer's Oscar winning movie showed what Waller was calculating, manipulative, and steadfast in her beliefs. She was willing to kill the Squad as well as her own team in order to accomplish her goals, and make it out of the conflict with The Enchantress alive.

Suicide Squad's post-credits scene also saw Amanda Waller come face to face with Ben Affleck's Batman. What's more, she knew his true identity as Bruce Wayne. But with Affleck officially hanging up his cowl and cape, we probably won't see this plot line come to fruition. But at least Oscar and Emmy winner Viola Davis is returning to bring life to Waller once more.

It should be interesting to see who else returns for The Suicide Squad. Idris Elba is taking on the role of Deadshot, while it's also been reported that James Gunn is bringing new characters into the team. We'll just have to wait and see.

Viola Davis' potential involvement in The Suicide Squad is fascinating, and might tease what James Gunn has in store for his upcoming DC debut. The writer/director reportedly wants to approach the blockbuster more like a reboot than a sequel, not necessarily picking up the narrative after the first film. This seems like a great idea considering the movie's disappointment performance, and would allow Gunn to do some world-building and assemble a motley crew of comic book characters.

James Gunn's reported commitment to a full reboot gained steam with Idris Elba's casting as Deadshot. Will Smith's performance as the character was one of Suicide Squad's stronger points, so having him return to the role seems like a no brainer. But he ultimately tapped out, leaving room for Elba to take on the mantle. Since then, DC fans waited to see what other characters could be recast.

But so far Deadshot is the only character who will be played by a new actor. What's more, James Gunn is reportedly bringing back a variety of characters from the first film for The Suicide Squad, including Captain Boomerang and Amanda Waller. Margot Robbie's Harley seems like an obvious choice to help roundup the cast, although she'll first appear in Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

Amanda Waller's inclusion in The Suicide Squad also makes a great deal of sense, as the Viola Davis' character didn't actually change much throughout the course of the first movie. When Enchantress is taken down by the motley crew of characters, Waller seems just as dedicated to her cause. And while the titular team was given a decade off their sentences and some special privileges, they were all promptly sent back to Belle Reve at Waller's behest.

If The Suicide Squad's narrative is at all influenced by the events of the first movie, Amanda Waller should be floating on her success. The concept of the Squad worked out in the end, even if her treatment of Enchantress was also the cause of the conflict. Since then, there have been even more superheroic events from Justice League, Aquaman, and even Shazam! It seems the DCEU needs Waller's team of villains more than ever. At least, that's what she'd want the authorities to think.

James Gunn signed onto The Suicide Squad before Disney welcomed him back to the fold for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. As such, his DC movie should come to theaters before the Guardians get their eventual threequel. And he seems like an inspired choice to take on the franchise, as he's clearly demonstrated a knack for ensemble comic book movies with a motley crew of underdogs. So perhaps he'll be able to bring the Suicide Squad to where the team deserves.

The first trailer for David Ayer's Suicide Squad was hot fire, as "Bohemian Rhapsody" played to accompany the wild characters and action shots. Unfortunately, that same energy failed to transfer to the final cut, although the movie still made great money, won an Oscar for makeup, and kickstarted a spinoff and eventual sequel.

The Suicide Squad is currently set to arrive in theaters on August 6th, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Karen Gillan Hopes 'Drunk Thor' Joins The Guardians Of The Galaxy

Karen Gillan Hopes 'Drunk Thor' Joins The Guardians Of The Galaxy

Some plot spoilers for Avengers: Endgame can be found in this article. But please note we are three weeks in, if you are a fan, go see the movie already!

Of the myriad characters present in Avengers: Endgame, actress Karen Gillan had some of the most major moments, as well as some of the most screen time (41 minutes, according to one count). She also wrapped Avengers: Endgame with one version of her character Nebula alive and kicking and she’s already looking forward to the future of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In fact, when she was recently asked about her feelings regarding the future of the Guardians and whether or not that future includes Thor, she answered in the resounding affirmative, noting,

Yes. I think that would be hilarious to see Thor and Star-Lord in some sort of captain rivalry. I think Drunk Thor would fit in more, though.

Personally, I’m more into referring to the new and definitely underwhelming Thor as “Fat Thor” rather than “Drunk Thor,” but to each his or her own.

The good news is that Karen Gillan seems all on board with having Thor join the Guardians in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (or some unnamed future venture).

As to whether or not Thor is actually a Guardian now, when last we left off he had hitched a ride on Peter Quill's ship, ending Avengers: Endgame with some funny quips that definitely poked holes into Star-Lord’s ego. Whether or not Thor will be a Guardian moving forward was certainly one of the biggest questions left at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Related: The 10 Biggest Questions We Have After Avengers: Endgame

Unfortunately for now, even the writers are passing the buck on the Thor question.

As for Karen Gillan, in general, she seems excited about the way Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is panning out. While Thor’s future is still unclear, the upcoming three-quel has signed on James Gunn again, appeasing the likes of Dave Bautista and many fans. It's a move that made Gillan happy, too, as she also told the LA Times:

I was so happy because it truly feels like we’re part of this little family on Guardians. And to have your leader ripped away from you is a really weird feeling. I feel that it wouldn’t be the same type of Guardians movie without him. So much of it is his personality. The sense of humor, his taste in music, the characters — there’s so much of him in there, so that would have been quite a strange sensation to make it without him. We were just so happy when he came back. It feels like everything’s as it should be now.

As for the status of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Marvel recently announced a slew of upcoming release dates, but didn’t actually tie any specific titles to them. We’re expecting to learn more later this year, specifically this summer, according to Bob Iger. For now, rumor has it the third movie following the Guardians is expected to go into production in 2020.

Vera Farmiga Says The Conjuring 3 Will Be ‘Massive"

Vera Farmiga Says The Conjuring 3 Will Be ‘Massive"

The Conjuring movies have been one of the most successful horror franchises of all time, creating what is probably the most popular and successful cinematic universe that doesn't involve superheroes. While the various spin-off titles have done well at the box office, fans are really waiting for the next proper Conjuring movie, and co-star Vera Farmiga says it will be worth the wait, because the next film is simply huge.

Vera Farmiga will be reprising her role as Lorraine Warren in the next creepy doll movie, Annabelle Comes Home, and the actress says that doing so is like a form of practice, so that she's ready when it's time to take on the role in a much bigger way. According to Farmiga...

Conjuring 3 is coming, and it will be a doozy. It will be big. So for me, visiting these characters [in Annabelle Comes Home], it's like practicing your scales and doing a few arpeggios before having to deep dive into the next one. Because the next one is massive.

These words to EW are music to the ears of the fans of the Conjuring films. We know that David Leslie Johnson, who also wrote the script for The Conjuring 2 has been working on the screenplay for the third film and at least one of the actors involved seems to be quite excited for it.

While fans are certainly looking forward to another Conjuring film, the next movie will be different in one big way. James Wan won't be directing the project. Those duties have shifted to Michael Chaves who will be giving the audience of taste of what he's capable of doing when The Curse of La Llorona hits theaters next weekend.

The Conjuring wasn't simply a successful horror movie that was able to generate sequels, but its various elements have been able to also generate spin-off stories, making for a widely successful cinematic universe. While a couple of the films have faltered with critics, all of them have been successful with fans and have brought in remarkable box office numbers. Even The Nun, which bombed with critics hard, is the second highest grossing film in the franchise.

The Annabelle movies have been so well received that we're seeing a third movie in the creepy doll franchise before we even get to the third proper Conjuring movie. The first Annabelle film was one of those movies that didn't hit with critics, and it's at the bottom of the domestic box office chart when it comes to the larger franchise, but the sequel was a whole different animal.

The Conjuring 3 is set to arrive in the fall of 2020, so we can expect production on it to finally get underway later this year. Maybe then we'll discover just how big the new film is going to be.

Some Guy On The Internet Figured Out How Fast Sonic The Hedgehog Is, Spoiler: It's Fast

Some Guy On The Internet Figured Out How Fast Sonic The Hedgehog Is, Spoiler: It's Fast

Sonic the Hedgehog's whole thing is about moving fast. Speed is the name of his game and the speedy little blue fuzzball certainly movies quickly in the trailer for the live action movie. But just how fast is he actually going? Somebody has done the math and figured out exactly how fast Sonic is moving, and it might be even faster than you think.

The math isn't all that complicated when it comes down to it. Kyle Hill of Because Science takes the brand new trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie and, by using the dividing line on a two-way highway that Sonic runs down, where the dots have a fixed distance of three to four and a half meters, we can tell approximately how far Sonic is running. Because we know the trailer is running at 24 frames a second, we know exactly how long Sonic is running for. These two data points allow Hill to calculate Sonic's speed to be between 108 and 162 meters per second, or between 341 and 362 miles per hour, depending on the distance between the road marks, which vary slightly depending on where the road is located.

Needless to say, that is certainly some serious speed. Of course, it's not nearly as fast as the movie claims he is going. In the opening scene of the trailer a police radar gun appears to clock Sonic at 760 miles per hour, which is just short of the speed of sound. Considering we also see Sonic's speed set off a visible shock wave at the end of the scene that's being used to calculate these numbers, the movie is certainly trying to tell us that Sonic can break the sound barrier.

It's certainly possible that the scene in the trailer is Sonic just warming up, and he'll increase speed to a much faster pace closer to what we're being shown. What's more likely, however, is that showing Sonic move that quickly would actually have him move out of the frame so quickly that we'd never really see him, and so Sonic had to slow down to make the movie work as a movie. If Sonic moved so quickly that you could never really see him, it wouldn't be all that exciting.

Of course, showing people move at incredibly high speeds in a movie or on TV is always a difficult balancing act. How to show the speed while still making the scene look exciting is complicated. This is probably why the movie has at least one sequence that shows speed from Sonic's perspective, which has everything around him moving incredibly slow, similar to how the recent X-Men movies have shown Quicksilver's speed in the same way.

Check out the full explanation of Sonic's speed in the video below.

Of course, right now, few people, even Sonic the Hedgehog fans, are all that excited about how fast Sonic is moving. The focus is instead on what he looks like when he stands still. The design of the character has received a lot of negative feedback, so much so that the movie's director has said that changes to the character design will happen before the movie comes out later this year.

Sonic the Hedgehog hits theaters November 8.

Robert De Niro Addresses Joker’s Connection To The King Of Comedy

Robert De Niro Addresses Joker’s Connection To The King Of Comedy

After yesterday’s big unveiling of the trailer for Todd Phillips’ Joker, there were many connections and references that sprang to mind as fans dissected every inch of the footage. As expected, one of the big ticket references baked in was our first look at Robert DeNiro’s talk show host, Murray Franklin; a character that has been pegged as a huge connective tissue between this DC experiment and Martin Scorsese’s dark comedy gem The King of Comedy. And in a recent discussion, DeNiro called it like he saw it, stating the following:

There’s a connection, obviously, with the whole thing. But it’s not as a direct connection as the character I’m playing being Rupert many years later as a host.

So Murray Franklin is, indeed, a character set to invoke the spirit of Robert DeNiro’s Rupert Pupkin-- if he was to have gotten that fame he’d always wanted by taking over Jerry Langford’s show. That’s one hell of a deep cut for film fans to cheer for, as well as something for newcomers to latch onto, in hopes that Joker could turn the younger comic film audience onto the works of its executive producer, Martin Scorsese.

The connection only seems to make The King of Comedy required viewing for Joker, as Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck seems very much like a Pupkin-esque figure, waiting for one bad day to set him off on his path to become the clown prince of crime. He’s beat up and ridiculed by random folks in the neighborhood, leads a life of semi-quiet desperation, and ultimately want to become a standup comedian that’ll be featured on a late night TV show. So casting DeNiro as that late night host that Arthur is fixated on is definitely a connection, and bordering on turning Joker into an official sequel.

Though, as Robert DeNiro has pointed out in his interview with IndieWire, the idea of Joker officially continuing where The King of Comedy left off didn’t escape him. In that very same chat, DeNiro provided the following thoughts:

If they would’ve proposed that to me, I would’ve said, ‘That’s interesting, maybe we’ll try to do that.’ But by making this type of film, it is connected in a way, as you’ll see.

Deciding to pay homage to the 1983 film, rather than continuing its story in a direct capacity, was probably a better card for Joker to play out of its deck of winners. But thinking about how Rupert Pupkin could have not only returned, but also become the very thing he railed against, is something so subversive we would have totally been down to see it. But an homage can be just as effective as a direct lift. If it worked for Robert Redford in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as he sent up various anti-authority characters he once played in the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. power player/traitor Alexander Pierce, then surely Robert DeNiro and Joker can pull it off as well.

Joker puts a smile on the face of the world on October 4th, though if you’re looking for a chuckle way before then, take a look at the 2019 release schedule and find some laughs.

Apparently, The Twilight Movies Are Hits On Hulu

Apparently, The Twilight Movies Are Hits On Hulu

At the end of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, Bella and Edward promise each other that they will be together and love each other forever. Forever is a long time, and while I can’t speak to their current relationship status, the love fans have for the Twilight franchise burns as brightly as ever nearly seven years after the last film’s release. This is evident because apparently The Twilight Saga is a hit on Hulu.

Although we don’t often get a lot of clear insight into viewership numbers from streaming services, when you do hear something, it’s usually good. Such is the case with the Twilight films, which arrived on Hulu on January 1. Hulu revealed to Decider that approximately 5,000 of its subscribers binged all five movies in the saga on New Year’s Day. That shows that these hardcore fans were probably waiting for the films to drop and could think of no better way to spend the holiday than with the popular franchise.

Those 5,000 were just the Hulu subscribers and Twilight fans who had the most ambitious binging aspirations. Over 135,000 Hulu subscribers finished all five films within the first week of their availability on the now primarily Disney-owned service. There is clearly still a passionate Twilight fandom out there and likely some new Twi-hards as well considering how streaming services allow for people to discover things they might have missed.

Hulu also provided some insight into who was spending all this time with Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, and the most common age of Twilight streamers was 20 year old. That makes sense considering that those watchers would have been 9 when the first Twilight film released in 2008 and they essentially grew up with the franchise. Nostalgic properties are powerful value propositions for streaming services and Hulu has one in Twilight.

As you might expect, 63% of those who streamed The Twilight Saga on Hulu were females. The other 37% were dudes being forced to watch it (I kid). The combined heartthrob power of Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson persists. If only more Twilight fans would follow all the great work in smaller films Robert Pattinson has done since then. Maybe if he’s the next Batman, those who like seeing him as a brooding creature of the night will tune in.

Although The Twilight Saga anecdotally doesn’t seem to have maintained the pop culture relevance it once had, the series’ success on Hulu is a reminder that this franchise was no fluke. Over five films from 2008 to 2012, fans of the franchise and Stephenie Meyer’s books flocked to theaters to the tune of $1.36 billion domestic and $3.34 billion worldwide.

Twilight’s performance on Hulu shows that should the studio one day decide to pursue a reboot of the property or tell more stories in that world, they can point to these numbers and the continued fan enthusiasm as evidence that such an endeavor could be successful.

For all this year’s new movies hoping to have similar success, check out our 2019 Release Schedule.