Michelle Rodriguez Reportedly Returning For Fast And Furious 9 After Female Writer Is Hired

Michelle Rodriguez Reportedly Returning For Fast And Furious 9 After Female Writer Is Hired

Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty is one of the pillars of the family at the heart of the Fast and Furious franchise, having appeared in five of the films, including the original and 2018’s The Fate of the Furious. But the actress’s time with the franchise looked like it may be running out of gas, based on comments she made about possibly sitting out the next film.

Now that crisis looks to have been averted and Michelle Rodriguez is reportedly returning for Fast & Furious 9. According to Bloomberg, the actress’s return comes after she secured an agreement for a female writer to join the production. There is no word as of yet about whom the female writer joining the franchise’s ninth installment will be, but there will be a female voice contributing to Fast & Furious 9.

After the release of The Fate of the Furious, Michelle Rodriguez expressed a desire for the franchise to start showing more love to its female characters, otherwise she might not return. She later elaborated about her concerns, speaking about her desire to champion female empowerment and the stagnant nature of the Fast & Furious franchise in that regard.

Expressing a desire for the action films to evolve, she cited the fact that the female characters in the films almost never talk to each other in the Fast & Furious movies as one example of the franchise’s problems in this area. While the male characters have real conversations and relationships, Michelle Rodriguez has spent very little time over the course of the series with the other actresses.

So by asking for the next Fast & Furious movie to show more love to women, she wanted to see female characters handled more deftly and with more substance. She also wanted for the women to actually talk to one another in meaningful ways and have real relationships.

Michelle Rodriguez was never adamant that she wouldn’t return, saying that she would wait to see the script and that she expected Vin Diesel to convince her. But she definitely wanted a female voice to be involved to help address her concerns and evolve the franchise. And it seems she got her wish.

The takes no crap actress believes that a movie on the scale of the Fast & Furious franchise has a responsibility to affect positive change, and she used her clout to do just that. Now the franchise can evolve the way she wanted, and hopefully have even better stories and character development and Fast & Furious 9 gets Michelle Rodriguez back as Letty. So it’s a win-win all around.

Alongside Michelle Rodriguez, another original cast member of The Fast and the Furious, Jordana Brewster is returning as Mia Toretto for Fast & Furious 9. Maybe those two franchise OG’s will get some good stuff to do together thanks to this new female writer being brought aboard.

There was also news earlier this year that the franchise has a female-led spinoff in development with three female writers brought aboard to pen it. Perhaps one of those three, Nicole Perlman, Lindsey Beer or Geneva Robertson-Dworet, are the writer helping out with Fast 9.

Fast & Furious 9 doesn’t arrive until May 22, 2020, but you don’t have to wait that long to see the next movie in the high-octane franchise. The first spinoff film, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, races into theaters on August 2. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of that and all the summer’s biggest movies.

What Shazam! Gets Right About The Emotions Of Foster Children

What Shazam! Gets Right About The Emotions Of Foster Children

Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for Shazam! Read at your own risk.

There's a lot to love about Shazam!, but amongst all the praise for its humor and action, there's one thing I loved about the DC movie above all else that isn't getting a lot of attention. Foster children play a huge part in Shazam!, and the way the film handles each child and the emotions they cope with is a supremely underrated thing this story should be getting more praise for.

I say this as a foster parent who has experienced firsthand and heard several stories from others about how harrowing the foster process can be. Much like Billy and the rest of the siblings, these kids are faced with tough situations very early in life that affects them in entirely different ways. No two kids are alike, and Shazam! shows audiences some of the various ways these kids are shaped in a way that mainstream media doesn't often show.

Take Billy, for example, who has spent a majority of his time in foster homes and running away in hopes of finding his birth mother. Billy is so convinced his mother has no way of finding him that he's leaving good and safe homes (which is not always a guarantee) and ignoring the case worker who suggests the reason she hasn't found him yet is because she's not looking.

What's most important in Shazam! is that it's explicitly clear to the audience why Billy does the things he does. He's not a foster kid acting out because he's ungrateful, misguided or a troublemaker. He legitimately believes his living situations are temporary, and that things will be alright once he finds his mother.

Of course, that's not always the case in foster care, and Billy eventually learns that his mother intentionally left him with the police because she believed he'd be better off without her. She also doesn't think it's a good time to reconnect, and it's more or less implied that she's in no rush to start a relationship with the young hero despite his efforts to find her.

What's important about this arc is that there's an acknowledgement that none of what happened is Billy's fault, which is a message all foster children need to hear regardless of their situation. Billy was affected by his mother's actions, but at the end of the day, she's the one to blame for their separation. Even if the situations aren't the same, any foster child can walk away from this film feeling that their circumstance isn't their own doing.

Another big thing Shazam! gets right about foster kids' emotions is the wide range of ways a child can react to their situation. Each of the kids ended up in the system some way, and each have been shaped by the experience and are coping with it in their own way. One scene in particular that sticks out is Darla's immediate attachment to Billy, and how quick she goes into referring to him as her brother.

The scene gets a big emotional payoff later when Billy tells Darla she doesn't have to call him 'brother,' as they aren't technically a family. Darla is immediately crushed by the statement, and it's the one scene in Shazam! where she could be described as sad. Billy tries to explain to Freddy he didn't mean it to upset her, and Freddy waves him off in an understanding manner while tending to Darla.

It's become one of my favorite scenes of the film because it shows Freddy immediately understands both sides and that no one is at fault. Freddy gets Billy's newcomer status in the family, and the fact that he still has reservations about getting so close to a group of strangers. He also understands Darla's position, and why someone rejecting her offer of inclusion into their foster family is devastating to her.

Freddy has his own problems, as he confesses later to Billy that he's absolutely jealous of his superpowers. Freddy, like most children, just wants to be seen and acknowledged for something other than what he is. No one at the school gives him a lot of acknowledgement, and the ones that do are bullies who frequently tease him for his disability and foster kid status.

Then there's Pedro, Mary and Eugene, who collectively represent another big part of foster kids and Shazam! Mary and Eugene are bright, while Pedro's math test implies he struggles in school. Their personalities are vastly different from each other, and they all seem to have been shaped differently by their varied upbringings.

Someone reading this may think "Well, they're just being portrayed like children," and that's the point. Too often does mass media portray career criminals as "foster children that bounced from home to home" or emotionally fragile kids when there's really not one box to contain them. That's not to say there aren't children who come out of foster care and become two of those prior stereotypes, but there are plenty of children who come out just like the Shazam Family.

These kids are positive role models for a group that, more often than not, is going through things the average child doesn't and shouldn't experience. Many won't complain because it's all they've known, or because they feel uncomfortable doing so in a situation where no one is entirely sure what the future holds for them.

Shazam! can be a great asset to foster families in helping kids and teens in the system tap into those complex feelings, and perhaps serve as a conversation starter into some deeper topics. It's also just a great film that can reinforce to a child in the system that they are special, and that their situation doesn't mean they're destined to become any one thing.

It's why I'm hoping that while the ending of Shazam! established Billy as a part of the Vasquez's foster family, themes relating to foster care continue in Shazam! 2. While Billy's mother didn't seem to want anything to do with him, it would be cool if they had some form of relationship down the road, however complicated that may be. There's also Billy's father who is in prison, so something could be done with him down the road as well.

Shazam! is in theaters and is doing quite well according to the first week numbers at the box office. For more on the film, check out the questions we had following the film's conclusion, and be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for the latest updates on movies, television, and pop culture.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Explains The Delay In New Conan The Barbarian Sequel

Arnold Schwarzenegger Explains The Delay In New Conan The Barbarian Sequel

A third Conan movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was teased at the end of Conan the Destroyer way back in 1984, but we never saw it. In recent years, Arnold and others have made it clear that they still want to revisit the world of Conan, but while other Arnold franchises have returned to the screen, the Conan movie has remained little more than an idea. Now, Schwarzenegger himself has explained why the Conan movie has remained dormant all this time, it seems the people trying to make the film don't actually have the rights. According to Conan the Barbarian himself...

When it comes to the movie, the sad stuff about all of this is when there’s an estate like this, The Robert E. Howard estate…when someone buys these rights, those people now own the rights and they have their own vision of what they want to do and the guy that has the rights is some young guy and he’s trying to figure out how to get his way through Hollywood and this is not easy to do. So there are people that say to him, 'why don’t you start with a TV series and then he negotiates for a TV series and that falls apart. And then he goes maybe to Netflix and that falls apart. Then he decides to make a movie maybe…but in the meantime, we have been trying to convince him for years now that the way to go is to come back and hire a really great director and to do another Conan movie and have me play King Conan, when Conan is like 70 years old and he's disgusted by sitting on the throne and being the king and then something happens after that. It’s really not that far from creating a finished script. The only one who really has to pull the trigger there is the people who own the Conan rights to do a movie. Let’s go to Netflix or whoever it is, let’s hire a director who’s very creative and can elevate the project to make it a winning project. I hope it will be done very soon because I think it’s a great idea.

Far too often the thing that stands in the way of people getting to make the the movies or TV that they want has nothing to do with creativity, but is simply a pesky thing like legal rights. Sometimes that can lead to additional creativity, such as when George Lucas couldn't get the rights to make Flash Gordon, and so made Star Wars instead, but when you're trying to make a sequel to a specific movie, that option doesn't really exist.

Conan was created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s and the character has been popular ever since. He's been turned into a movie and TV hero more than once, but we haven't seen much from the character since an attempt at a film reboot in 2011 failed to find an audience.

Arnold has made no secret of his desire to resurrect his version of the hero, and while it has seemed like the project was permanently stalled, there have been some hints of life. Clearly, some of those involved are not ready to let this one go.

As Arnold Schwarzenegger mentions to TheArnoldFans.com, most recently there was an attempt at turning Conan into a series, but according to him, that project is now also dead.

Certainly, without the rights there will be no opportunity for this project to go anywhere. And it has to be said, the apparent plan for the film is an intriguing one. Comparisons are frequently made to Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, which means the project isn't simply a return to the character, but one that could only be done now, with an older Conan having lived a long life. It certainly has potential.

The odds of ever seeing this one may be long, but it looks like if a deal for the rights can ever be made, Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to return.

Should The John Wick Franchise End With Chapter 4?

Should The John Wick Franchise End With Chapter 4?

Warning: SPOILERS for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, bookmark this page and come back once you’ve caught up.

If anyone had doubts about the John Wick franchise’s ability to print money at the box office, this weekend’s stellar performance of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum should be enough to put them to the side. Which is perfect, because as The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) and John Wick (Keanu Reeves) have now sworn to basically team up to take down The High Table, there’s going to be room for at least one more sequel that’ll keep the franchise going.

Of course, it’s moments like these where a franchise really has to take stock in where it is and where it’s going. With a solid story and tighter action so far, the John Wick story seems to be hitting its stride. However, how long can it keep running before it’s backed against the wall, with one too many plot assassins to contend with?

We’ve seen it with almost any iconic series that’s made it to the trilogy marker, and since John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum represents exactly that, that question should be asked right now: should the hypothetical John Wick: Chapter 4 should be the final installment of the well-favored series of action films that has reinvented Keanu Reeves’ career as an stuntacular superstar? Or is this an overreaction that seems rather premature? Let’s look at the pros and cons together and discuss.

Yes, John Wick: Chapter 4 Should Be The Finale

With The Bowery King and John Wick’s alliance serving the purpose of waging all-out war with The High Table, it could act as a proper and fitting end to the John Wick saga. For so long, this organization has ruled over the world of assassins with a strict code of rules that seems to reap a fresh current of blood with the passing of each film.

So having that expectation set for whatever John Wick: Chapter 4 may be titled, it feels like the great game should end with a blaze of glory. Maybe the film incorporates a time jump forward rather than continue right after the previous chapter, and sees John and The Bowery King worn down from an extended period of street warfare. Then, out of nowhere, a cunning strategy, some new alliances and a Hail Mary to end all desperation moves send the John Wick series out in a blaze of glory.

Though director Chad Stahelski has gone on record as stating he could make John Wick movies for the rest of his career, the story naturally has to end at some point. Why not make it the point where John takes the battle to his former overlords, shatters their grasp of power and either dies a hero or lives as a hermit, with his dog as his only companion?

No, John Wick: Chapter 4 Should Be The Door To Something Bigger

On the other hand, an all-out war with The High Table is something that the John Wick series could definitely extend into at least two, maybe even three films. With all of the intricacies in the code of assassins, and the expansion of the lore that John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum added to the picture, things could just be getting started.

In fact, one of the John Wick franchise’s strengths is the fact that with each entry, there’s just enough lore to keep your mind occupied and enough action to satisfy the part of the audience that craves spectacle. Nothing is over explained, and everything seems to happen in its own due time, without too much retconning.

With no shortage of story, and an eager cast and crew ready to keep John Wick on his slow and steady descent into High Table Hell, the series doesn’t need to rush itself into a finite end. As long as there’s an exit strategy in mind, the John Wick series could continue for as long as it wanted. Maybe it could even go into a ninth installment, with just enough films to match the number of circles Hell itself contains.

Where We Stand On The Issue

While it’s tempting to try and walk away from the table while the streak is hot, it does feel like John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum sets up too big of a future story path to end with just one film. That’s not exactly an invitation to continue aimlessly over the course of unchecked sequel growth, as there should be a definite endgame for John’s quest to become a free man yet again.

Some franchises have amazing staying power, and if there are resources and enthusiasm to continue down a certain story path, then you really can’t keep a good franchise down. John Wick’s vengeance deserves to be seen, heard and felt in its due course of time, and rushing things would only water down the quality work we’ve seen thus far.

It’s not often you’ll see a franchise that builds such a compelling case for its own continuation as John Wick does. You really don’t know what’s going to come next, and the way the story has been told up until this point is not only deliberate in its pacing, it’s also still at a point where there’s unlimited potential for fun twists and turns.

This weekend’s box office result is only further proof that the viewing public is still in love with the series that started with a reluctant, but vengeful hero who’s now sworn to rip apart the world that’s only grown to torment him more as time goes on. Each time they’ve confronted him, The High Table has thought they’d cracked John Wick’s resolve, only to see him find a new way to reduce the competition’s numbers.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was it destroyed in that short a span of time. So if John Wick needs a couple passages past John Wick: Chapter 4, who can argue with that? Actually, if you’re looking to continue this discussion, you could, dear reader.

Now that we’ve talked out both sides to the John Wick: Chapter 4 issue, it’s your turn to get involved. Take our poll below, and tell us in the comments section about whether you feel the John Wick series has run its course or if it’s just getting started.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is in theaters now.

All The Marvel Movies That Have Made $1 Billion

All The Marvel Movies That Have Made $1 Billion

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is, without question, the biggest movie franchise of all time. The 21-film series has brought in nearly $20 billion in total box office since it began in 2008. Of course, a large part of that success is due to the fact that so many movies have been produced. Only the James Bond franchise has made as many individual films, and nobody has done it quite as quickly as Marvel Studios.

However, what might be more amazing than the total business these films have done is that about half of the total revenue that's been generated actually comes from only a third of the movies produced. Less than 40 movies in the history of cinema have made $1 billion or more at the global box office, and Marvel has made seven of them. Here, in release order, are Marvel's members of the billion dollar club.

Marvel's The Avengers

Global Box Office: $1.518 Billion

When the MCU began, nobody was quite sure just how well it would work. A series of solo movies were released. Some did well at the box office (Iron Man), some didn't do as hot (The Incredible Hulk). However, the real test of the concept was when the heroes would first be brought together in The Avengers. Needless to say it worked. The massive team-up was the first Marvel movie to break $1 billion and it's still the second highest grossing Marvel movie ever. Domestically, it's actually number one if you adjust for inflation.

Iron Man 3

Global Box Office: $1.214 Billion

Once Avengers opened the floodgates, Marvel Studios wouldn't have to wait too long to for its second billion dollar hit. Iron Man 3 followed on the heels of Avengers as the first movie of the MCU's Phase Two and clearly, even 12 months later, interest was still incredibly high. Both previous Iron Man films performed solidly when they were released, though both have been dwarfed by more recent films, but Iron Man 3 absolutely soared. It was the highest grossing solo Marvel movie until quite recently.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Global Box Office: $1.405 Billion

After Iron Man 3, things began to calm down for the MCU a little bit. The rest of Phase Two put up solid numbers thanks to well regarded films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, which basically proved Marvel could do anything, but we all still knew the next time the Avengers got together, the audience would come. Avengers: Age of Ultron didn't quite match the total business done by the first Avengers, but it came awfully close. It would be three years before we got another Avengers movie, but other parts of the franchise would pick up the slack.

Captain America: Civil War

Global Box Office: $1.153 Billion

Captain America: Civil War isn't a full Avengers movie, but considering the cast that shows up for it, it might as well be. Thor and Hulk might be missing, but we throw in Black Panther and Spider-Man for good measure. Every other superpowered hero that we've met in the franchise is here. If there were people who only watched Captain America movies at this point, they were probably very confused. The story has significant repercussions for the rest of the MCU, making in a must watch for anybody who wants to keep up with the larger plot. Civil War was the Marvel movie at the bottom of the billion dollar club. We'll have to wait and see if it stays there.

Black Panther

Global Box Office: $1.346 Billion

In the weeks leading up to the release of Black Panther, the box office estimates for the film just kept increasing. Then the movie actually arrived and everything just exploded. While the final tally puts Black Panther just behind Age of Ultron, Panther actually had a bigger opening weekend than Ultron and it came within just a few million of outdoing The Avengers itself. It's currently the highest grossing non-Avengers movie in the MCU. The power of a diverse cast clearly helped this one, but nobody who loves superhero movies stayed away.

Avengers: Infinity War

Global Box Office: $2.048 Billion

Including Avengers: Infinity War in a list of movies that have done more than $1 billion feels like selling it short, as the movie actually doubled that number when it was released last year. Infinity War is the fourth highest grossing movie ever made, behind Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Those four movies have each grossed over $2 billion and number five on the list isn't even close. Infinity War was an event like few other films could ever hope to be. It certainly makes one wonder what the future has in store considering there's more of that story to be told.

Captain Marvel

Global Box Office: $1.003 Billion (and growing)

It looked for a long time like Captain Marvel, the newest entry in the MCU, was going to reach that billion dollar mark, and while it took a slow and steady route, as of now, it has done it, marking the seventh Marvel movie, and the 38th film of all-time, to achieve the milestone. It will likely add a bit more to its box office total before it's all said and done. We'll have to see if the next couple weekend are enough to get to surpass Captain America: Civil War, but with another big Marvel movie on the way, attention will soon be shifting away to other things.

Of course, while Marvel has seven movies on this list, the eighth is practically a foregone conclusion. Avengers: Endgame is selling tickets ahead of release even faster than Avengers: Infinity War did, which implies it will have a bigger opening weekend and very likely a bigger final total. Then Marvel will have two movies that have made $2 billion. We may not know what's to come in Phase Four, but movies making giant piles of cash is probably a pretty safe bet.

Five Feet Apart Reactions Highlight The Divide Between Fans And Critics

Five Feet Apart Reactions Highlight The Divide Between Fans And Critics

Sometimes fans and critics just don't agree, resulting in some wildly different opinions on a single movie. Thankfully, there isn't just one right opinion and everyone else is wrong, but it's interesting to see what films can cause such different takes. The latest is Five Feet Apart, a young adult romance drama that audiences seem to love while critics were much less hot for it.

Five Feet Apart stars Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse as two people with cystic fibrosis who enter a relationship but have to stay five feet apart from each other at all times to avoid cross infection.

The film opened in theaters this weekend, and for the most part critics haven't been too smitten. Five Feet Apart has received mostly middling reviews, with critics writing that although the film features some strong performances (notably from Haley Lu Richardson), it gives in to too many cliches. The film is at 54% on Rotten Tomatoes at this point, but audiences are having much stronger reactions to the romance drama.

The audience score is currently at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, highlighting the divide between audiences and critics on this one. I personally tend not to place too much trust in user reviews, but fans are ranking it pretty high on other review aggregators. CinemaScore, which solely measures the audience's perception of a film, gave Five Feet Apart an "A" ranking, which really good. It's important to remember that CinemaScore surveys people right after they've seen the movie, so it usually gets them at their most passionate.

I don't think that it's too surprising that there's a divide on this one. Five Feet Apart is clearly going for a specific demographic, which critics don't seem to belong to. So, you could view this as the film playing well with the audience it was made for, but doesn't do much to appeal to others.

The more interesting reaction might be in the cystic fibrosis community. Evidently, those who possess the disease at the center of the film are mixed. According to Cystic Fibrosis News Today, some like the film and believe that it will bring a lot more awareness to their disease. However, others are insulted because they view the film as a way to profit from a disease.

The cystic fibrosis community is also divided on the portrayal of living life with the actual disease. Apparently, the movie only shows patients who are very ill, and not the ones who go on to lead successful lives. Additionally, the rule is that you have to stay six feet away from someone, not five.

You can decide where you fall on Five Feet Apart, which is out in theaters everywhere. For everything else premiering this year, be sure to check out our 2019 movie release guide.

The Fast And Furious Franchise Might Give Charlize Theron’s Cipher A Spinoff

The Fast And Furious Franchise Might Give Charlize Theron’s Cipher A Spinoff

With this summer’s Hobbs and Shaw release, the Fast and the Furious franchise is officially expanding into spinoff territory. And why not? The Universal property has made the studio over $5 billion in box office earnings worldwide. After Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham have their own blockbuster moment this summer, the next spinoff may shift its gear to techie badass Cipher, from 2017’s The Fate of the Furious played by Charlize Theron.

In addition to Hobbs & Shaw, and the upcoming ninth and tenth installments from the main franchise, Universal is reportedly exploring a female-fronted Fast and Furious spinoff built around Charlize Theron’s character Cipher. Universal reportedly has been promised three Fast and Furious spinoffs, including a previously announced female-fronted film. Is this the film starring Charlize Theron’s Cipher or an additional project?

A few months back, Vin Diesel said a female-led Fast movie was officially in the works from two of the Captain Marvel writers Nicole Perlman, Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsay Beer. Furthers details have not yet been announced, but many assumed Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty would be leading the film since she’s been the franchise’s leading woman since 2001. So THR's new report about Cipher is especially surprising.

Michelle Rodriguez has also been vocal about her past disappointment with the series’ treatment of female characters. This could have led Universal to think up two female-led movies, one with Letty and one with Cipher, they could be in the same movie or Rodriguez may not be involved in the upcoming Fast and the Furious spin-offs at all.

In 2017, Charlize Theron joined the franchise as the main villain Cipher, a cyber terrorist who blackmails Vin Diesel’s Dominic into betraying his crew. In Fate of the Furious it was also revealed that she played a larger role in events in other films in the franchise, making her a key character to perhaps explored in another movie.

Not to mention the impressive track record the Oscar winner has with fronting action flicks in the past. Theron has played the lead in Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde and The Huntsman: Winter’s War. Another notable connection here is the director of Hobbs & Shaw also helmed Atomic Blonde, so if Universal is planning a continued collaboration with David Leitch, the pair may jump at the opportunity to work with one another again.

Following Theron’s debut in the Fast and the Furious franchise, she seemed open to reprising her role in another film, hinting at impending conversations with Universal. Perhaps it lead to a more meaty role for the actress to take on in a future?

The Fast and the Furious franchise will first continue with Hobbs & Shaw coming to theaters on August 2 and then with Fast and the Furious 9 on May 22, 2020. Do you want to see Charlize Theron’s Cipher return for a spinoff? Let us know in the comments below.