Pet Sematary Could Get A Prequel

Pet Sematary Could Get A Prequel

While any novel being adapted for the screen is going to lose some pieces that are deemed unnecessary for the film to flow, Pet Sematary gave up a lot of real estate when it came to the story of its iconic next door neighbor Jud Crandall. It doesn’t hurt the film’s narrative, though viewers familiar with the source novel or even the 1989 adaptation might miss those parts of the story they remember pertaining to the big lesson Jud learned when dealing with the titular burial ground. Those fans might be consoled by the fact those pieces of the story are not only fresh in producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura’s mind, he’s open to adapting them into their own story.

Naturally, it feels like this whole conversation started with the fact that the 2019 adaptation’s radically different ending leaves some room for a sequel to Pet Sematary; and that notion is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Regardless, while making the rounds with the press, Di Bonaventura expressed that going forward isn’t the direction that intrigues him most with this particular story. Speaking to that point in one interview, he laid out his thoughts as follows:

I generally don’t start thinking about [sequels] until they’re a success. I think if there’s anything here, there’s a prequel. I think if you look at the book, we didn’t cover all that stuff that happens before the Creed family moves in. So, I think there’s a movie there, and I think I’d be particularly interested in doing that, because, again, it’s the source material and you are going toward something that also has a lot of crazy, creepy feelings about it.

With Pet Sematary’s 2019 refresh already grossing almost double its production costs, there’s a case to be made for the film’s commercial viability. Not only does it have the Stephen King brand name working in its favor, but the film’s story is also one of the more popular titles out of King’s catalog. What’s more, the story of Jud Grandall’s youth and the local experiences with the old Micmac burial ground are ripe for fans -- old and new -- to see brought to the big screen.

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura’s remarks to Consequence of Sound during his time at this year’s SXSW festival pretty much sum up why he’d want to explore this particular avenue of franchise extension, and, in my opinion, his reasoning’s sound. But what about the story material? Well, fans of the novel know that Jud’s story about how various pets, and eventually war vet Timmy Baterman, were buried in that stony, supernatural soil turned out. But there’s so much to that particular story that a prequel film could easily inhabit that earlier era, and would only require a bit of padding out to make a unique narrative.

Pet Sematary isn’t even the first Stephen King property to find itself looking towards the prequel treatment as of late, as Season 2 of Hulu’s Castle Rock anthology is going to follow young Annie Wilkes from Misery, and her path to unstable evil. The big difference here is that Jud Crandall’s backstory, as well as that of the town that he inhabits, provides an advantage to expanding the world that the story of Pet Sematary inhabits.

This universe is already built to accommodate this prequel, as Pet Sematary does sneak in references to these past events. Most notably, when Jason Clarke’s Louis Creed is researching Ludlow’s rather colorful history, he comes across a newspaper story discussing Timmy Baterman, now updated to be a veteran of the Vietnam War, rather than his service taking place during World War II in the original novel’s time frame.

Strangely enough, it sounds like some of the storied past of Pet Sematary almost made it into the finished product of directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer’s reboot, as Lorenzo Di Bonaventura shared the following details, courtesy of an interview with /Film:

Do we get to meet young Jud? There’s a lot of opportunity I think that we don’t have to make up out of whole cloth. As fans of the book, I know for me I’ve increasingly liked the idea that that’s how we would approach it. ... Yeah, and one of the things we did try to get in is we tried to get the Micmacs in. At one point we had written an opening scene where you see them flee and you’re left with some information but not too much information about the why of it. Less about establishing what it is they’re running [from] and more establishing what is the thing that’s freaking them out.

It's certainly not lost on Di Bonaventura that Jud Crandall’s story has a lot of potential, should the decision makers at Paramount find themselves in the mood to further resurrect their legacy property. Though given the studio’s recent attempts to bring back some of previous hits through sequels, like Coming To America 2, and reboots, like the smash hit Bumblebee, this has to have been a thought that already crossed several minds before Pet Sematary even opened.

Whether or not this story becomes the next entry in Pet Sematary’s canon remains to be seen, as the film’s only been out for a little over a week. The next couple of weekends will undoubtedly be crucial to such a prospect, and if the numbers add up, it looks like there’s some room to scare up some more box office horror in the sleepy town of Ludlow, Maine. After all, old Jud was right when he said that sometimes dead is better. At the same time, why let the dead rest, when they’re having such a good time?

Pet Sematary is in theaters now, but if you’re looking for more box office excitement, our 2019 release schedule is the place you should be to find it. Though if you’re dead set on seeking out more Stephen King adaptations, we have a special guide to projects strictly from the author’s pen that are currently on track for release and production.

All The Transformers Movies, Ranked Best To Worst

All The Transformers Movies, Ranked Best To Worst

It’s almost hard to believe it’s been over a decade since the Transformers movies started taking the world by storm back in 2007. With director Michael Bay overseeing the first five films as director, the franchise has quite an identity it’s made for itself with those five entries. His tenure seeing him direct Transformers through Transformers: The Last Knight, with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Transformers Age of Extinction filling the middle.

But with last year’s Bumblebee, the Transformers movies have seemed to switch tactics and approach their source material with a more family friendly approach. Which makes ranking the franchise itself all the more exciting, as there’s plenty to talk about when not only comparing the tone between the original franchise run, but also that of those previous Transformers movies and the latest film in the line.

Ranking the in order from the best to worst, we’ll run the table through all six entries currently present in the Transformers canon, and describe what makes them great or not so great. Let’s roll out, and start with the top of the heap.

1. Bumblebee (2018)

There are so many things that Bumblebee gets right about being a Transformers movie. With an '80s setting that allows fans to get a bit of era-appropriate nostalgia mixed in with robot action, the stage is pretty well set for last year’s big Transformers kinda/sorta reboot to take flight.

What's even better is the fact that Bumblebee’s breakout star actually takes his original form of a Volkswagen Beetle. Crafted as a film to warm the hearts of Transformers die-hards, going back to his original look was more than wise. However, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to what makes this particular film work.

At the heart of Bumblebee’s entire effort to do something new is a story of Haliee Steinfeld’s Charlie, and her friendship with Bumblebee himself. Telling the most personal story in the series, while also including a ton of Transformers movie action, is the largest reason of why this film works the best out of the six.

2. Transformers (2007)

Out of all of the Michael Bay directed Transformers movies, the closest his series has ever come to setting the same sort of tone that Bumblebee did was with his first Transformers film. As Shia LaBeouf’s Sam shares a relationship with Bumblebee, similar to the one that particular Autobot shared with Charlie in the ‘80s, the core of human and Transformer co-operation is its strongest in this particular Bay-fueled story.

Though the action is definitely a stand out when comparing 2007’s Transformers to Bumblebee, as there’s tons of frenetic heroism to enjoy in this more modern paced blockbuster. Quite frankly, this film probably works the best because it’s where the entire franchise started, allowing this particular Transformers movie to be a little more experimental in what it wanted to do.

It takes a while to get to the actual gigantic action of Autobots and Decepticons fighting each other in public, which is actually best in hindsight, as it gave Transformers more time to really build its human component But by time things take off, it’s full steam ahead for the rest of the film, as well as the Transformers franchise.

3. Transformers 4: Age of Extinction (2014)

Sometimes, a soft reboot is all you need to boost a series that needs a pick-me-up, and that’s what Transformers: Age of Extinction did in the series’ fourth outing. With a pretty much completely new human cast, led by Mark Wahlberg’s protective father-turned Transformers crusader Cade Yaeger, the possibilities for the series opened pretty wide.

By reintroducing some of the human element that would go missing in the two Sam Witwicky sequels, Transformers: Age of Extinction gave the franchise a new lease on life, as well as room for a new trilogy dealing with an Earth that no longer ignored the presence of Transformers, but in some cases wanted to hunt them down and destroy them for good.

Capped off with the addition of Grimlock and other Dinobots into the fray, Transformers: Age of Extinction was more fun than most sequels get to be in a series that spans over three entries.

4. Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (2011)

After the writer’s strike of 2007-2008 interfered with the writing process of Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, it felt like the series had lost a good amount of the wind that was once in its sails. Then Transformers: Dark of the Moon happened, which showed that while it had definitely taken a hit, the series wasn’t out of the game just yet.

The third and final film in the Sam Witwicky trilogy, Transformers: Dark of the Moon had a hell of a secret weapon to help tell the story of a race against time between Autobot and Decepticon forces trying to recover an artifact from the moon, in hopes of ending their conflict for good.

This is where the Transformers movies started to depend a bit too much on human historical events and the secret Transformer involvement in such moments. But even when it things started to sag with this third film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon did have a show-stopping battle in Chicago, and an impressive turn by Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime.

5. Transformers 5: The Last Knight (2017)

Considering how much of a breath of fresh air Transformers: Age of Extinction felt like, the Transformers movies would find themselves dipping in quality yet again with the fifth film, Transformers: The Last Knight.

Doubling down on the “secret history” of humans and Transformers, this adventure would see Mark Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager returning on his own, with some new sidekicks in tow. Throw in a heel turn for Optimus Prime, an evil Transformers sorceress trying to resurrect Cybertron and a sassy robot butler that knows the words to “Move, Bitch,” and you basically have the gist of where this one went wrong.

For all of the care that was taken in laying down somewhat of a mythos for the Transformers and their lost home of Cybertron in the previous films, Transformers: The Last Knight was the fifth and final Michael Bay directed Transformers film, and one hell of a slap in the face to fans.

6. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

When pressed to give a reason as to why Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was as unimpressive a sequel as it was, director Michael Bay basically blamed it on the hoops he and the series’ writers had to jump through in order to complete the film before various industry strikes took place.

It certainly feels like it, as the second of the Transformers movies really feels like the worst of the lot. Taking Shia LaBoeuf’s Sam Witwicky for a second ride in the Transformers universe, our hero found himself saddled with cosmic knowledge that could swing the war between Autobots and Decepticons in favor of the villains. But, of course, what Transformers movie would be complete without zany comedy.

With a story that felt as incomplete as it was offensive in some places, the rush to keep the series up and running definitely showed in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s second bite at the apple. If there was more time and attention paid to the story, this could have been a pretty interesting follow-up, especially with legendary genre actor Tony Todd playing The Fallen, a rogue member of the Prime order.

There you have it. Six Transformers movies, not-so alike in dignity, just waiting for an opportunity to be unified into one whole franchise. While they might not all be amazing, each Transformers film does have its own unique pros and cons in the series. And as always, rankings are personal, so the fans of the series may not agree with our rankings above. So if you have a different opinion on which Transformers movies are good, bad, or indifferent, share your answers with us in the comments below.

The Hellboy Reboot Producers Already Have Ideas For Sequels

The Hellboy Reboot Producers Already Have Ideas For Sequels

Next month, a brand-new take on Hellboy will be hitting theaters. Unlike Guillermo del Toro's version, the 2019 Hellboy takes a bit more direct inspiration from the comics and takes several cues from a storyline called The Wild Hunt. Hellboy has some stiff competition in April, but should the film do well enough, producer Lloyd Levin said that there are already a couple sequel ideas mapped out, but not in any way that's set in stone.

In the new film, Hellboy (David Harbour) takes a trip over to Great Britain to battle the Blood Witch Nimue (Milla Jovovich). The story involves everything from dragons to undead armies to Excalibur to flaming crowns. Most of these were elements in a comic book storyline called The Wild Hunt, which serves as partial inspiration for the reboot.

As such, there’s some direction to take the story, should Hellboy be greenlit for a sequel. All of it is pretty much right there in the comics written by Mike Mignola, which served as the DNA of the establishing the reboot. So, while there is nothing etched in stone, producer Lloyd Levin told Collider that they have an idea where the story would go in a sequel.

Not in a No. 2 will be this and No. 3 will be that, but you can tell yourself. If this starts with The Wild Hunt, the track is laid from there in the comic books where you could go.

Hellboy doesn’t just take from one aspect of the comics. While there is plenty of The Wild Hunt in there, the story also has Hellboy boxing demons in Tijuana, which is from Hellboy in Mexico. The story also draws from Darkness Falls and The Storm and the Fury, and is more like a collage of stories, according to director Neil Marshall.

One thing it isn’t is a greatest hits. It’s a coherent story but it certainly dips into several different stories that Mignola put together, so I suppose it’s a collage of sorts, but we made a through-line that connects everything.

According to Levin, Mignola was involved “in the genesis” of the movie. Mignola and fellow Hellboy comic writer Chris Golden even wrote a draft of the script together. To keep things in the spirit of the comics, the movie shot for an R-rating because the comics don’t really get shy when it comes to violence. Per Levin:

The comic books themselves are R rated. There’s buckets of blood, there’s beheadings, there’s an intensity that equates naturally and organically to the R rating.

You can see a comic book accurate Hellboy in, well, Hellboy, out in theaters on April 12. To learn more about the film, here is what we know so far.

Bad Moms’ Grandmas Are Getting A Spinoff

Bad Moms’ Grandmas Are Getting A Spinoff

The movie Bad Moms was one of those comedies that studios love to see. Relatively inexpensive to make, only a budget of around $20 million, and a box office return approaching 10 timers that. It was no shock that a sequel was green lit quickly. Now another film in the franchise is on the way, though this one, titled Bad Moms' Moms will focus on, as the title suggests the mothers of the Bad Moms.

Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, and Cheryl Hines were introduced in A Bad Moms Christmas as the mothers of the three main characters played by Kathryn Hahn, Mila Kunis, and Kristen Bell. The characters were a hit with fans. The actresses made it clear back when the last film came out that they were interested in getting their own movie. Yesterday at CinemaCon, STX Films announced (via EW) that exactly that would be happening.

Little more than the fact that the movie will exist was announced at the industry trade show. This means we don't even have so much as a release window, much less a date. A Bad Moms Christmas came out in 2017, less than 18 months after the first film. At this point there's likely no hurry but the turn around time on a comedy isn't necessarily that long. If the movie is going into production this year we could see it hit screens next year without much problem. Even a release before the end of the year is possible if filming is starting soon.

I feel like appearances by the original Bad Moms are probably a strong possibility, though nothing in that regard was mentioned, and they likely won't be major characters in order to keep the focus on the title characters.

If nothing else, it's nice to see Bad Moms' Moms make it to the screen because Hollywood so frequently seems to forget that actors, and actresses especially, still have something to contribute when they're no longer considered "young." The characters played by Susan Sarandon, Cheryl Hines and Christine Baranski were hilarious in the last movie and they can absolutely lead their own story.

In it's own way, Bad Moms' Moms can even act as a sequel in its own right. For the most part, the three "Bad Grandmas" were basically older, amplified versions of the three Bad Moms. This movie will just show us who Katheryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, and Mila Kunis' characters are going to grow into when they become grandmothers themselves.

Wonder Woman 1984 Isn’t Really A Sequel, According To The Producer

Wonder Woman 1984 Isn’t Really A Sequel, According To The Producer

Sequels are practically a given for any movie that does well at the box office and it when it comes to superhero blockbusters starring popular characters, sequels absolutely are a given. However, it seems that the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984 isn't really a sequel. At least, not according to the team that's making it. Producer Charles Roven says that director Patty Jenkins isn't approaching the movie as a sequel. It seems she draws a line between the idea of telling another story and telling a sequel story. According to Roven...

[Patty Jenkins] was just determined that this movie should be the next iteration of Wonder Woman but not a sequel. And she’s definitely delivering on that. It’s a completely different time frame and you’ll get a sense of what Diana-slash–Wonder Woman had been doing in the intervening years. But it’s a completely different story that we’re telling. Even though it’ll have a lot of the same emotional things, a lot of humor, a lot of brave action. Tugs at the heart strings as well.

Technically speaking, a sequel is a story that's designed to continue the story that was started in an earlier work. Wonder Woman 1984 will continue to tell the story of Wonder Woman in as much as the movie will deal with the same main character, but it seems the idea here is that this movie won't really be connected to the first in any meaningful way.

Since the new Wonder Woman movie will take place decades after the first, and still a few decades before the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the movie is set in a good place to tell a stand alone story. We can expect some similarities between the two films, but it sounds like the plan is to make something a bit different in every way.

Of course, we know there will be some connections to the first Wonder Woman film. If nothing else, we know that Chris Pine will be in the movie as Steve Trevor. While we don't know the how or why of that, his appearance is certainly an intentional call back to the first film.

It's not all that surprising to see that Wonder Woman 1984 is being looked at as its own movie. DC has clearly found more success in making standalone movies rather than trying to tie everything together into a single universe. It seems that even goes for two films starring the same character.

Charles Roven's comments to Vulture, at least theoretically mean that even the few people that missed Wonder Woman will probably be able to drop right into Wonder Woman 1984 without missing a beat. If it's not really a sequel then watching the first movie shouldn't be required to enjoy the story of the new film.

We can judge that for ourselves when Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters in the summer of 2020.

9 Important Things To Remember Before Seeing Avengers: Endgame

9 Important Things To Remember Before Seeing Avengers: Endgame

This is it, folks! We are in the Avengers: Endgame! Eleven years and 21 films have prepared the world for this momentous event of epic proportions, and after this movie is released, nothing will be the same. So surely, you’re prepared for the big day, but let’s go through a rough and ready checklist.

You’ve picked out a shirt/outfit/cosplay of your favorite hero to wear to the theater, right? Good. You’re all stretched and rested, prepared for a little over three hours of screen time with no bathroom breaks? Fantastic. You remember all of the details needed to enjoy Avengers: Endgame, after rewatching the entire MCU? Ah, ha! We thought you’d need help with that.

While this isn’t a total substitute for watching the 21 film run currently known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’re about to provide you with nine key facts that you should remember, in order to make your Endgame the best game. So do another stretch, make sure your outfit’s pressed and stitched, and read on to prepare yourself for the movie event of the summer.

The Infinity Stones Are As Old As The Universe Itself

As explained by Master Wong in Avengers: Infinity War, the Infinity Stones were created by the Big Bang, along with the universe we all exist in. Thanks to that big universe energy, each of the six stones created were cast out into the cosmos, settling in random spaces.

So if you’re a being like Thanos, this is something that’s crucial, as theoretically one could use those stones to do something like, say, balance the universe in your own image and take on the Earth’s mightiest heroes without breaking a sweat.

Or, if you’re a comic/movie company, you could build an entire shared universe of heroes over the acquisition and defense of these stones as well. But whatever one would do with the Infinity Stones, the point is, they’re roughly as old as the planet you’re currently on. Maybe fractionally older.

Those Stones Also Controlling Vital Elements Of Existence

Each of the Infinity Stones controls a vital element that can be manipulated whenever that gem is activated. Those six elements are Reality, Time, Mind, Soul, Space, and Power; each with a different color corresponding to their power signatures.

Those stones individually are a force to be reckoned with, but there’s an even bigger threat that involves their usage. Should all six of those Infinity Stones be collected and mounted into the fabled Infinity Gauntlet, they could be used to trigger a cataclysmic event that would wipe out half the universe.

Known as “The Decimation” (or simply, The Snap), it’s Thanos’ ultimate endgame, as he is obsessed with balancing what he feels is a universe of chaos and overpopulation. There’s a chance of stopping this mad titan, but to do so, the right team needs to be in place.

The Original Avengers Haven't Been All Together Since Age Of Ultron

Normally that “right team” would be The Avengers, but here’s the thing: the original six haven’t been together since Avengers: Age of Ultron. With Hulk being the first to leave the scene, the group eventually started peeling off and doing their own things.

Eventually, Thor would be the next Avenger to leave the board, as his visions of destruction and chaos in Asgard inspired him to return home after a prolonged absence. And then, the rest of the OG team was broken apart by those three lovely politically-charged words: The Sokovia Accords.

With Iron Man and Captain America leading factions of pro and anti sentiments involving the accords, the events of Captain America: Civil War split the rest of the team, including Hawkeye and Black Widow, into groups that were either law-abiding supers or fugitive-costumed heroes. At this point, the fracturing of the team that started in Avengers: Age of Ultron only continued to set them apart.

The Avengers Are Much Different Heroes Than When They Started

Even if they hadn’t split up during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, there are a lot of changes that have happened in the lives of the team. And we’re not just talking about costumes or weapons of choice either; these go right to the stem of their personalities.

Tony Stark is in the final stages of settling down to get married to Pepper Potts. Captain America is no longer the U.S. Government’s biggest boy scout. Black Widow and Bruce “The Hulk” Banner were in the middle of a relationship until he left. And Hawkeye has a secret family no one knew about.

Add in their differences of opinion involving the Sokovia Accords, and you’ve got a body of superheroes that aren’t quite sure what the next move is. Which is the perfect time for Thanos (Josh Brolin) to come knocking in Avengers: Infinity War, with his quest for the Infinity Stones already putting one Avenger partially out of commission.

The Hulk Has Gone Into Hiding (With Bruce Still In The Open)

There was a time when Bruce Banner would have metaphorically killed to rid himself of the ability to turn into the Hulk. Having a large, green, rage monster within you that needs constant supervision and control isn’t all it’s cracked up to be when trying to lead a normal life. So who can really blame him?

However, Banner’s wish for Hulk to return to action throughout Avengers: Infinity War is equally identifiable, seeing as it’s kind of his job at that point. But the green guy went into hiding after receiving a rare thrashing from Thanos, and as of the end of the film, he’s yet to show up in his full form; despite what the trailers may have told people.

So now, Bruce Banner could go on dates, get angry without a care, and generally live a normal life. You know, if it wasn’t for the whole Decimation happening and everything. Come to think of it, has anyone seen Betty Ross lately?

The Decimation Had To Happen, According To Doctor Strange

Quite possibly the greatest twist of all to take place in Avengers: Infinity War is not the fact that Thanos’s Decimation actually happened, but the fact that according to Dr. Stephen Strange, it had to happen. There’s heroes admitting that the odds are severely not in their favor, and then there’s flat out telling your teammates that you have to lose big in order to win bigger.

Out of 14,000,605 outcomes that could have taken place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was only one scenario that Strange admitted would have yielded a successful outcome; a fact he’d continue to swear by as he crumpled into dust. And unfortunately for the universe, that particular game plan meant Thanos had to get his hands on the complete Infinity Gauntlet package, and realize his plan of wiping out half of its occupants.

With the ultimate defeat delivered at their doorstep, and quite a few of their own numbers wiped out in the process, The Avengers that remained were left to mourn and lick their wounds. Meanwhile, Thanos surveys his work on a lush planet, ready to give up his madness and be at peace with the universe.

All Of The Avengers Are Scattered Throughout The Universe

Even before the main event of Avengers: Infinity War, the team was split into two different locations, providing Thanos with just as many fronts to fight his war of acquisition. On his home planet of Titan, and the fields of Wakanda, the purple tyrant found himself snapping up the last two Infinity Stones, and then snapping away half the universe.

This left Tony Stark and Nebula on the planet of Titan, with the Guardians of the Galaxy’s craft the Milano as their only way off the planet. Meanwhile, the rest of the remaining Avengers are on Earth, presumably at their New York headquarters, trying to figure out what their next move is.

While they may not know it, events at that point are in order that will eventually save the day. And it will all come down to the very thing, and the very person, that brought them together in the first place.

Nick Fury Provided The Avengers With An Edge

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, we see a post-credits scene of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Nick Fury and Maria Hill driving as they learn of the incursion of Thanos’s forces in Wakanda. All of a sudden, a car accident takes place, and the agents learn of the effects The Decimation is having on the globe firsthand.

With Hill being the first to disintegrate, Nick Fury has just enough time to almost swear, and send a page out to his good friend Carol “Captain Marvel” Danvers. She receives this page in the depths of space and returns in the post-credits scene to Captain Marvel, with one question in mind: “Where’s Fury?”

Her friend may be missing, but thanks to Captain America and his surviving partners in The Avengers continually paging her to return, Carol is now aligned with Earth’s mightiest heroes in their most desperate hour of need.

Ant-Man Is Stuck In The Quantum Realm

As if the stakes weren’t high enough with the events set forth in Avengers: Infinity War, there’s one more thing that is going to be super important to remember when stepping foot into Avengers: Endgame: Scott Lang is stuck in the Quantum Realm, thanks to The Decimation.

It was all due to a science experiment being run at the end of Ant-Man and The Wasp, as the newly reunited Pym/Van Dyne family were having Scott harvest some energy in the world of the subatomic. All in the name of keeping Ava “Ghost” Starr stable while research was being conducted to cure her of a problem involving involuntary quantum phase shifts.

Just as Scott was ready to return to the world of the regularly sized, The Decimation hit and took out Hope Van Dyne, her mother Janet, and her father Hank Pym; all of whom were monitoring Ant-Man as he went subatomic. Scott seemingly has no way out at this point, and we’re left with him crying out for help in the Quantum Realm.

There you have it: everything you needed to know about Avengers: Endgame, but were too cool to ask. Now, you’re absolutely ready to see the end of an era. So do a couple more stretches, and don’t overestimate using the bathroom a couple extra times before seeing the film. You can never be too sure with your bladder. Happy hunting, MCU fans, and if you happen to have the time to watch a couple of the previous films, use our list of the essential short list of titles to make sure you’re spending your prep time wisely.

Avengers: Endgame starts pulling everything back into place in early showings this Thursday.

John Wick Box Office: Beloved Hitman Takes Out Avengers: Endgame

John Wick Box Office: Beloved Hitman Takes Out Avengers: Endgame

You can't win the weekend box office forever. Even E.T., which somehow won the weekend box office sixteen different times, was eventually defeated. After surviving a close race with Detective Pikachu last weekend, Avengers: Endgame came into this weekend a bit beaten up, and John Wick 3 took full advantage, topping $57M in its debut weekend and almost doubling up Captain America and friends, which slipped to number two for the first time after winning its initial three weekends.

You can check out the full weekend box office results, including those for other newcomers A Dog's Journey and The Sun Is Also A Star below...

The big story here, of course, is John Wick 3. The previous two installments of the movie definitely had nice little runs at the box office, but round three almost doubled the weekend opening of round two, per Box Office Mojo. That's definitely a sign of a franchise trending in the right direction. Whether there will be a Chapter 4 is still unclear (info here WITH SPOILERS), but there's still the spinoff rolling forward over at Starz and it's hard to imagine Hollywood deciding to pass on a cash cow. As such, I'd expect to see another film too, whether it's a direct sequel or a spinoff.

Obviously, we should all tip our caps to Avengers: Endgame, as well. The film may not have won a historically significant number of weekends, but it'll go down as one of the highest grossing movies of all-time. That's ultimately a lot more important than winning a fourth weekend, which is as much related to competition as it is to absolute popularity. Obviously, the natural question moving forward is where the MCU goes from here and what the new normal as far as box office grosses might be. I don't think anyone at the Mouse House will be expecting numbers like this anytime soon, but it remains to be seen whether franchises like Black Panther will be able to eclipse their prior entries now that the MCU isn't directly building toward a clear climax.

All involved with Detective Pikachu should be happy with the film's solid second weekend, as well. Fans are already speculating on what Pokemon movies they'd like to see next, and it now seems certain we'll see another movie with a sizeable budget in the near future, which is the entire goal of trying to launch a franchise. Now whether that movie will include Pikachu or Ryan Reynolds is anyone's guess, but Detective Pikachu still deserves all the credit for proving enough people are invested in Pokemon to make a $100M+ budget a reasonable expense.