Wait, Could Toy Story 4 Feature A Major Time Jump?

Wait, Could Toy Story 4 Feature A Major Time Jump?

Almost a decade ago, fans said goodbye to Andy and his beloved childhood toys in a beautiful full circle ending that had him passing on his toys to a young girl named Bonnie before going away to college. Or so we thought. Toy Story 4 will pick up with Woody, Buzz and the gang as they go on a summer road trip with Bonnie and her family. We thought the recently released full trailer for the upcoming film featured the presence of Andy as both a kid and adult to get us in the feels, but some fans speculate otherwise. Take a look:

This an interesting theory from Twitter user @CrisMovieCorner! Is it possible that there will be a time jump in Toy Story 4 that will focus the story back on to Andy as he then passes his toys down to his son? This could happen if Bonnie grows out of his toys and decides to pay him a visit to give them back and, now, as a man in his thirties (since he was celebrating his eighth birthday in the first film, set in ‘95), he might find some joy in seeing his little ones play with some familiar faces.

The theory would certainly make for a touching conclusion for the franchise that ties back into the main characters’ roots. However, this might mean Woody and Buzz would have to watch Andy grow old, along with his son and end up in the same place of helplessness they were in Toy Story 3 that led to them being passed on to Bonnie.

The reason for this speculation started because some have found it difficult to believe that the boy playing with Buzz and Jessie in the trailer is a flashback of young Andy, even though he is wearing the same hat and looks to be in the bedroom from the original trilogy. Just look at the difference in looks between the two animated “Andys”:

However, digital animation has seen some significant changes in the over 20 years the Toy Story films have been produced and Andy has already seen a few alterations in every installment so far. Is it so hard to believe the new trailer brought back young Andy, and made him look a little different yet again, after showing the kid throughout the years? Check it out:

Think of it this way, if Toy Story was live action would the same actor be able to play Andy in every one of the movies if the filmmakers wanted to keep him the same age? Oh, did you say “It’s animation, the whole point is to be able to keep it consistent”? In theory yes, but I would guess the animators like to have fun with these redesigns and as more advanced technology comes about they don’t mind changing things up every so often.

Just look at what was done with Violet’s crush Tony Rydinger between 2004’s Incredibles and the 2018 sequel that the internet couldn’t quit theorizing about last year:

I’d say that’s a lot more of a redesign than Andy gets in Toy Story 4 and we know that these animations were definitely meant to portray the same person. The scene of the Andy-looking kid in Toy Story 4 could still be his son, though! Guess we’ll find out for sure when the movie debuts in theaters on June 21, 2019.

Watch Paul Rudd's Hilarious Failure To Get Avengers: Endgame Spoilers

Watch Paul Rudd's Hilarious Failure To Get Avengers: Endgame Spoilers

Over the years, the MCU has gained a legendary reputation for secrecy with even the stars of the universe often being kept in the dark as to the whole story. This can be stressful, especially when you are being asked to divulge a film’s secrets on a constant basis, as the case for this week’s(!!!) Avengers: Endgame. Well, Paul Rudd has seemingly had enough of the secrecy and attempted to extract spoilers from the Russo Brothers. Take a look:

It was a valiant effort and he gets points for trying, but maybe Paul Rudd should have taken more cat burglar lessons from his character and placed that cellphone in a less conspicuous location, because he failed spectacularly here. He starts off strong though, switching from secrecy and frustration to charming and affable Paul Rudd as soon as the Russo Brothers come in.

Paul Rudd apparently got the script for Avengers: Endgame, but not the ending, which the Russos let him know was for his own safety. This is where we get the first of two digs at notorious spoiler Mark Ruffalo, who they say got a fake script to prevent further cringe-inducing slips of the tongue. Poor guy, you screw up one, two… you screw up a few times and suddenly nobody trusts you and you’re the butt of everyone’s jokes.

In the Twitter video, Paul Rudd comes super close to getting the goods from Anthony Russo, who is about to reveal who dies in Endgame when Joe Russo discovers that they were wrong to trust the Ant-Man actor. Ominously, Anthony Russo says, “Here is the list of people who die” before getting ready to count them off on his fingers. That he needs a numbered list would be quite devastating if this jokey video turns out to be prophetic.

After being caught, Paul Rudd hilariously tries to save face after this calamitous failure by scapegoating Mark Ruffalo, which all things considered, isn’t the worst strategy in the world. Maybe Tom Holland will help carry some of that shame load, and by Phase 6, Mark Ruffalo can be trusted again.

Although Paul Rudd ultimately failed to get the goods from Joe and Anthony Russo here, unfortunately there are spoilers for Avengers: Endgame that have leaked. Even with the incredible efforts to prevent such a thing from happening, there are no guarantees. So stay frosty on the interwebs and beware of spoilers if you want the purest experience possible and not some trash cellphone video.

Paul Rudd doesn’t have much longer to wait to find out what happens in Avengers: Endgame, and neither do we. Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters this weekend. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the big movies headed to theaters this summer movie season.

Mark Hamill Loves Driving Disney Execs Crazy With Star Wars: Episode IX Teases

Mark Hamill Loves Driving Disney Execs Crazy With Star Wars: Episode IX Teases

Forty years after Mark Hamill’s first appearance as Luke Skywalker, the actor is reportedly saying his final goodbyes to his iconic role when Star Wars: Episode IX makes its debut in December. Fans have been promised a fulfilling end to the Skywalker Saga but are growing impatient about the silence surrounding the movie thus far. It’s just eight months away; we don’t have a title and where is that damn trailer?

As a Twitter regular, Mark Hamill is always having fun with fans and pulling some Jedi mind tricks every so often to give us something to talk about while we wait (such as getting us emotional about the Han and Luke reunion that never was). He doesn’t mind playing around with the Disney/Lucasfilm studio higher-ups either, since he has little left to lose, as he recently said this on Jimmy Kimmel Live...

Well, you know I love driving the Disney executives crazy. 'Cause what are they gonna do, fire me? I'm in that really calming lull between the time after you make the movie and before it comes out. They don't want you to say anything. And I'm good at that. But like I say on my Twitter account, people are constantly saying 'When's the trailer dropping? What's the title?' Like they're gonna -- they wouldn't tell me that. I play dumb. I say, 'They made another Star Wars movie?' Nobody tells me anything.

There you have it! Stop harassing Mark Hamill, all the answers will come in time! Being sworn to secrecy doesn’t stop the actor from stirring up the Disney executives a little bit, though, because this movie is said to be his last journey as Luke anyway. Jimmy Kimmel did quip that they could cut off his hand – perhaps to save on Luke’s robo arm CGI? Nah, he’ll be fine!

This “no worries” attitude reminds me a bit of Samuel L. Jackson’s approach to his role of Nick Fury in the MCU, which is also subject to tons of secrecy. Jackson recently messed with press and fans by telling them his recent co-star Captain Marvel could time travel, before admitting he had made it up.

Jimmy Kimmel brought up the actor’s most recent joke: the reveal of the Star Wars: Episode IX trailer – which was a literal picture of his trailer on set instead of the highly-anticipated first look at the holiday release. Hamill talked about his kids’ reactions to his clever social media post with these words:

My kids are rolling their eyes going 'That's such a dad joke.' And I'm going 'What's a dad joke?' They said 'Well you know obvious, full of puns.' My son Nathan said 'Not funny.'

While the post certainly incited the same kind of “har har har” laughs fans might give to jokes from their dads, it’s nice to see the actor have fun with the fans and tease their excitement a bit.

Star Wars: Episode IX officially wrapped filming last month, and while we still don’t know just when the trailer will be released, our hopeful suspicions point to April, to accompany the release of Avengers: Endgame.

Every Marvel Studios Movie, Ranked By CinemaBlend Readers

Every Marvel Studios Movie, Ranked By CinemaBlend Readers

Earlier this month we took on a not-so-minor endeavor. Wanting to determine the true rankings of all of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we not only polled the entire CinemaBlend staff asking them to order the films from best to worst, but we then had all of you lovely readers take on the same task. We released a survey on our site, promoted it on our HeroBlend podcast, and nearly a thousand of you did us the favor of responding – which has led us to this moment.

We have tabulated the results of your submissions, and by taking a weighted average of all your responses we have put together this special ranking of every movie released by Marvel Studios so far. We have a special breakdown of both the bottom five and the top five featured in our latest episode of HeroBlend, which you can listen to right here:

But to get into the full list, keep on reading!

The Bottom Five

22. The Incredible Hulk

21. Thor: The Dark World

20. Iron Man 2

19. Thor

18. Iron Man 3

We were a bit surprised to see Kenneth Branagh’s Thor wind up on this portion of this list (the CinemaBlend staff had it at #16), but really the rest of this didn’t end up being shocking at all – given that the four other titles all had the exact same rankings on our staff list. Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk is just kind of a muddled mess; Alan Taylor's Thor: The Dark World features what is unquestionably the weakest villain plot in all of the Marvel titles released thus far; Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 notably just has too much going on; and not everyone really loved the big Mandarin twist in Shane Black's Iron Man 3 (or the fact that it’s much more of a Tony Stark movie than it is an Iron Man movie).

What’s particularly interesting about this grouping, though, is that all of the titles come from Marvel Studios’ first five years producing movies – a.k.a. the period when the company was still figuring out the kinks of a cohesive, multi-tiered franchise that didn’t include major characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men. Obviously that era also delivered us the first Iron Man as well as The Avengers, but still there’s nobody out there who would argue that the brand hasn’t come a long way since 2013.

The Middle Of The Pack

17. Captain Marvel

16. Ant-Man and Wasp

15. Ant-Man

14. Captain America: The First Avenger

13. Avengers: Age Of Ultron

12. Doctor Strange

11. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The middle of our CinemaBlend reader rankings is populated entirely by two kinds of Marvel Studios releases: origin stories and first sequels. Within the former category, fans apparently don’t put Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange, Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man, or Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s Captain Marvel as high on the shelf as some of the other Marvel releases of their ilk (which we’ll get to in a second), but there is definitely appreciation for what they contribute to the universe. The CinemaBlend staff shows the first Captain America movie a bit more love than readers, as we put it at #11 on our averaged list, but mostly we seem to be in sync in this realm.

As for the first sequels, it’s interesting that most of them wound up ranking below their series predecessors on this list, with the lone exception being Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In many cases it can be hard for filmmakers to follow-up their own work, particularly when the first movie earned a lot of love and raised expectations. It’s an interesting pattern to recognize when you realize that the upcoming Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to include Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, and Doctor Strange 2 – not to mention the fact that the next Marvel release is set to be the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home.

The Top Ten

10. Spider-Man: Homecoming

9. Black Panther

8. Iron Man

7. Guardians of the Galaxy

6. The Avengers

5. Thor: Ragnarok

4. Captain America: Civil War

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

2. Avengers: Infinity War

1. Avengers: Endgame

If anyone out there is looking for evidence of fan appreciation for the contributions that Joe and Anthony Russo have made to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you need look no further than the results of our survey. All four movies that the brothers have directed for the franchise landed in the top spots here, with the most gratitude being expressed towards the absolutely massive Avengers blockbusters that were released in the last two years. It was clearly a ridiculously huge endeavor to take on, but the best word to describe the results of the execution is “beloved.”

All of you also showed a tremendous amount of love for Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok – which has a ranking that arrives in sharp relief compared to its predecessors in the God of Thunder series – and even after 11 years people are still showing Jon Favreau’s Iron Man the respect it deserves. Clearly there is also a lot of love for the more modern franchise-starters, with Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther and James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy all earning spots on the Top 10, and all of us will certainly never forget the game changer that was Joss Whedon’s The Avengers.

How did these final results wind up comparing with your own submissions to our survey? Is there any film that you personally love and now feel is totally underrated? Do you think there is any movie in the franchise that gets way more praise than it actually deserves? Hit the comments section below, and tell us what you think of this vox populi ranking - and, as always, be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest news, updates, features, and reviews of Marvel Cinematic Universe releases!

Is Bo Peep The Villain In Toy Story 4?

Is Bo Peep The Villain In Toy Story 4?

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for a few past Pixar films along with the opening scene of Toy Story 4.

Toy Story 4 is just under three months away, and recently Pixar hasn’t been shy about pulling back the curtain a bit on what to expect from the long-awaited comeback of Andy’s gang of childhood toys. The upcoming animated sequel will also mark the return of Bo Peep, a shiny porcelain sheep-herder who was a loving confidant to Woody up until the studio decidedly cut her out of 2010’s Toy Story 3 – or perhaps just forgot to pencil her in?

Now, Bo Peep seems to be getting her redemption story in Toy Story 4, as the character has traded her bonnet and pink dress for a badass (but still feminine) take on her character. This includes her wearing pantaloons, a pink bow and using her crook as a powerful weapon instead of a mere accessory as she shows Woody around her new way of life, which seems to be between an antique store and lively carnival. She certainly has a prominent presence in the marketing for Toy Story 4 thus far, and now there's been speculation that this is because she is being developed into the next Toy Story villain.

But could Bo Peep really be the crook (pun intended) that Woody, Buzz and the gang will ultimately face in Toy Story 4? I certainly think there's a good case for it! Time to break this theory down.

Bo Peep is introduced in the first Toy Story film as a porcelain doll who is part of a lamp belonging to Andy’s sister, Molly. This already makes her a bit of an outsider to the other toys, but she is often used as a “damsel in distress” to Woody’s adventures during play time. The pair share an undeniable connection with one another, as she’s often thought of as Woody’s love interest. But then, something happens between Toy Story 2 and 3 that makes Bo Peep disappear from the cast of characters in the animated franchise.

Perhaps she is given away? That seems to be the way Toy Story 4 will fill in the gaps in the beginning of the film (which was recently shown at CinemaCon). The story will be set up by showing Woody and Bo Peep’s final exchange before they reunite in the upcoming movie, which includes her telling Woody that she’s okay with being given away and her asking him to come with her. He doesn’t, as his loyalty stays with Andy, though Toy Story 3 famously ends with the now-college-aged lad giving his childhood toys away to a toddler named Bonnie, who they belong to in the new movie.

Toy Story 4 will see Woody getting separated by Bonnie when he runs after her new craft project, Forky, who is having an existential crisis about his purpose. As Woody tries to rescue Forky and bring him back to Bonnie, they will come across Bo Peep. She will introduce Woody to her new lifestyle as someone who has taken control of her narrative as a toy, who roams freely without the need of one child and seems to help other forgotten toys find a home without an “Andy” to call their own. She seems to tempt Woody to adopt this life as well and the movie seems to center on a decision for him to either stay with her or again remain loyal to his kid.

Bo Peep has already been rejected before by Woody, so what if she’s not willing to take no for an answer this time? What starts off as her giving him the illusion of choice by using persuading words like “sometimes change can be good” and “kids lose their toys everyday” (which she utters in the trailer) is actually entrapment. Her story arc could easily become an origin story of the next Toy Story villain. As the other toys go out to save Woody, maybe they end up needing to confront and rescue Bo Peep. It would be the ultimate showdown if the last installment of Toy Story revolved around Woody and the gang face off with a character they love and once called a friend from the past.

The Toy Story franchise is certainly no stranger to pulling the old friend-turned-foe switcheroo. In the second film, Stinky Pete was painted as a new friend to Woody before he tried to force him and Jessie to be shipped off to a toy museum in Japan. This formula was used again in the third movie when the once welcoming Lotso tried to keep the toys from going home in order to keep them safe in the confines of the preschool, where they wouldn't be given away or replaced. Based on this track record, when toys face abandonment, something seriously cracks, and we know Bo Peep has received this treatment already.

Pixar has used this plotline in two other of their recent releases too! In Coco, Ernesto de la Cruz is introduced as Miguel’s hero, but winds up being the film’s villain, and in Incredibles 2 Evelyn is set up to be on the heroes' side before being revealed as the movie’s main baddie as well. Would Pixar dare use this familiar formula for its third release in a row? I think it’s certainly a possibility!

The villain that seems to be set up in Toy Story 4, a doll named Gabby Gabby, just doesn’t seem to hold as much emotional weight to the toys as Bo Peep would as a villain. Plus, her tragic backstory has already been revealed. She’s a vintage doll that was manufactured with a broken voice box and she has some creepy ventriloquist dummies who do her bidding. This story certainly has the makings of a sinister evil plot - such as attempting to steal away Woody’s working one so she can be finally loved by a child perhaps?

But it’s actually more predictable than Bo Peep’s potential as a villain because we don’t know yet what happened to her between Toy Story 2 and today. That’s 20 years of backstory we may learn and could play a bigger role in the story, then what’s being revealed by Pixar. Even if I’m right, Toy Story 4 could still be a really interesting and unique addition to the franchise, and there could still be a ton we don’t know about where it goes.

We of course won’t know for sure until Toy Story 4 hits theaters on June 21. What do you think? Do you think this theory will play out in any way in the upcoming sequel. Feel free to tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

See Mark Hamill's Chucky Terrorize Andy In Child's Play Clip

See Mark Hamill's Chucky Terrorize Andy In Child's Play Clip

June 21 brings two tales of toys to theater screens. In one, Andy’s former toy Woody reunites with an old flame and goes on an adventure to bring a fellow toy back to its kid. In the other, a different Andy discovers that not all toys have such good intentions and childhood games can quickly become nightmares. Take a look below to see Mark Hamill’s Chucky terrorizing Andy in a clip from the new Child’s Play.

Mark Hamill may be best known for playing Luke Skywalker, but here he shows why he is such an accomplished voice actor. Even though we don’t see Chucky in the scene, just through his voice Mark Hamill conveys all of Chucky’s feigned innocence, his true malice and the pleasure he derives from terrorizing poor Andy. This game of Hide-and-Seek is like a cat playing with its terrified food.

Gabriel Bateman’s Andy is super freaked out, frightened and confused by the whole thing, but he puts on a brave face and even picks up a weapon hoping to protect himself. But a wooden bat is a weapon for a more simplistic foe, and Chucky is playing on a different level. This becomes clear to Andy when the TV shows Andy’s feet and the look on his face changes from one of determination in the face of fear to one that says ‘oh shit.’

The whole clip, and the premise of this new Child’s Play, feels like something out of an episode of Black Mirror. Chucky is a toy with smart functionality and he’s able to connect with all the other seemingly innocuous smart household devices that we interact with and allow to listen to us, watch us and control our surroundings. It makes his presence near ubiquitous and gives him a level of omnipotence.

This all makes escaping Chucky far more difficult than simply outrunning a two-foot doll. Maybe older generations really did have it better just using their imaginations and playing with sticks and rocks.

This trailer continues the trend of the marketing so far for Child’s Play by largely focusing on Chucky’s voice versus actually showing the killer doll. CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes has wondered about this approach and if we need to see more of Chucky, and although that may be the case, I think less is more works here for this clip.

Mark Hamill’s brilliant voice performance and the premise of the scene put us in Andy’s shoes, where Chucky is more dangerous specifically because we can’t see him. We'll have to wait and see how the film doles out looks at Chucky once he turns evil, but for now, Child's Play is taking a Jaws approach, showing us just enough of the threat to build suspense and tease it out.

Child’s Play opens in theaters on June 21. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the biggest movies headed to theaters this summer.

MoviePass Has Brought Unlimited Back But With A Bunch Of Restrictions

MoviePass Has Brought Unlimited Back But With A Bunch Of Restrictions

If you’re an avid movie fan who wants to see everything from the smallest indies to the biggest blockbusters in theater, MoviePass’ unlimited plan where you could see 1 movie a day for $10 a month, was like a dream come true. That unlimited plan was one of the casualties of MoviePass’ tumultuous 2018, that saw it struggle financially and make frequent changes to its offerings. Now MoviePass has brought unlimited back…with a bunch of restrictions.

MoviePass’ new unlimited plan is dubbed MoviePass Uncapped and on the surface it looks a lot like the unlimited plan that rocketed the service to millions of subscribers. MoviePass Uncapped offers subscribers an unlimited number of 2D movie screenings each month (no repeat viewings) for $19.95 a month. But for a limited time, if you pay for a full year in advance, that price comes down to $9.95 a month or about $120 for the year.

So basically, if you pay the year upfront, you are getting the same attractive price that made MoviePass such a disruptive service in the first place. However, if you are wary of the service and don’t want to commit for a full year, you can still take advantage of a discounted rate of $14.95 a month for a limited time.

Once that limited time offer expires (it was not announced when that will be) the plans go back up to $19.95 for month-to-month and $14.95 a month for the annual plan. It sounds like a pretty good deal for moviegoers but being a great deal is what saw MoviePass burning through cash like the Joker burns through mob money, so there are a bunch of caveats.

As reported by TechCrunch, MoviePass’ announcement includes several notable restrictions that will presumably help it to stay afloat. For one, the best deal on the Uncapped plan, where you get unlimited movie tickets for $9.95 a year when paid in advance, requires subscribers to pay via e-check or automated clearinghouse. This would theoretically cut down on credit card processing fees for MoviePass, but the ACH option would require subscribers to give the service their bank account information.

In addition and probably the most eyebrow-raising restriction is that with the Uncapped plan, MoviePass reserves the right to limit your movie selection based on the movie title, your theater choice, the day and showtime and the individual’s historical usage. You may be restricted if your individual use negatively impacts the capacity and availability of the service for other subscribers.

So if you are the kind of person who want’s to really take advantage of this unlimited plan, you may find that there is a cap to how many movies you can see with the Uncapped plan. MoviePass is endeavoring for more transparency this time around though and is very upfront about these potential restrictions on the company’s website.

Another caveat is that you’ll only be able to reserve tickets for a movie three hours before showtime and once you’ve reserved your tickets, you need to check in at the theater between 10 and 30 minutes before the film starts. This new plan also replaces the three-tiers of plans MoviePass introduced in December as part of the brand’s relaunch, although those who already signed up for those can keep them.

To try and combat fraud, the new terms of service also will still require ticket verification. Location services on the app will also be used to validate the location of the theater to confirm that you are using the service yourself. Apparently this will be used at the start of the movie and during its runtime to verify you are there. How that will work if you turn off your phone during a movie is unclear.

As always, MoviePass’ latest move comes with more questions than answers and we’ll have to wait and see how it works out in practice. Will subscribers be constantly locked out from seeing the movies they want (Avengers: Endgame?) and wether or not this plan is financially sustainable are the two biggest things that come to mind.

Still, despite the many restrictions and uncertainty, if the Uncapped plan works like you would hope, it could be a great deal. Even without the discounts, the $20 a month price point is right around what AMC Stubs A-List costs and this gets you more movies, albeit not 3D or premium showings. That makes it a solid value if you want to see a lot of movies, the big unknown is whether or not MoviePass will let you.

No matter how you pay for movies, there are plenty worth seeing this year. Check them out in our 2019 Release Schedule.