Mark Hamill Had Pitched J.J. Abrams A Luke, Leia, And Han Scene For The Force Awakens

Mark Hamill Had Pitched J.J. Abrams A Luke, Leia, And Han Scene For The Force Awakens

Should Mark Hamill write the next Star Wars trilogy? He's excited for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and all the speculation it has already spawned, but he has been open with his frustrations with the sequel trilogy -- including that we never got a real Luke/Leia/Han reunion. Turns out, he had an idea that could've at least partially given fans (and himself) that gift before the end of the Skywalker Saga.

Mark Hamill said he pitched his idea to J.J. Abrams when they were making Episode VII, The Force Awakens, as an alternate way for Luke to make a surprise late-in-the-film appearance while still managing to get the OG gang together again.

Everyone talks about the shock of realizing that, on Force Awakens, I don't come in until the last page. A bigger shock to me was them killing Han Solo before Luke could ever see his best friend again. I mean, it might be selfishly motivated, but I said, 'Holy cow, that's a real missed opportunity!' Even having the three of us together, even briefly.

So Mark Hamill told THR what he had previously pitched to The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams:

I pitched [J.J.] Abrams on the idea of, 'You can still have me come in at the very end, but how about this? How about Leia's trying to contact me telepathically, she gets frustrated because there's no answers, so she rushes to the new Death Star. And she almost gets there but she gets stopped by two Stormtroopers and, just before she's abducted, one Stormtrooper turns to the other one, blows him away, pulls off his helmet and says "Hi, sis, I'm here to rescue you."' I said, 'It'll blow the roof off the joint!' I'm still in it at the very end. And I think it's more effective to have people who have more of a history with Han Solo witness his dead, and be unable to stop it -- his wife, the mother of his child, his best friend -- instead of two characters who have known him what, 20 minutes?

Well, you'll get no argument from me. J.J. Abrams has already taken heat for The Force Awakens showing Leia hug Rey after Han's death instead of Han's other BFF Chewbacca. 'Cause it's true, Rey barely knew Han Solo. It would've had more impact to see Luke, Leia, and Chewie's emotional reactions. Abrams has shared regrets about the blocking of that particular scene, since it did come across as "a slight" to Chewie, which was not intended.

So it sounds like Mark Hamill had issues with both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, since he has also been candid with his frustration on the direction of Luke's storyline in Star Wars: Episode VIII.

Even if Episode IX somehow cobbles a Skywalker reunion together, it's too late for it to have the same kind of impact it could've had in The Force Awakens. Han Solo was killed by his son Ben/Kylo in The Force Awakens, Luke died in The Last Jedi, and Leia actress Carrie Fisher died in real life. Luke is still returning somehow in The Rise of Skywalker -- perhaps the title is a hint there -- and Leia will be shown in previously unused footage. But Star Wars lost its chance to get the original trio back.

Mark Hamill recently posted a photo hugging Harrison Ford, showing his own version of a Luke/Han reunion. He's really laying it on thick, but the frustration is shared by fans. That said, unlike Hamill, we as fans don't know what The Rise of Skywalker has in store in terms of Skywalker family reunions. The teaser trailer already showed Carrie Fisher's Leia in another mid-hug moment, but maybe we can hope for even more from J.J. Abrams, who has learned from his experience on The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20, as one of the many films to look forward to watching on the big screen in 2019.

Rocketman: Big Differences Between The Movie And Elton John's Real Life

Rocketman: Big Differences Between The Movie And Elton John's Real Life

Here’s a fun fact: biopics are generally where the facts go to get twisted into Hollywood gold. Now while that’s something that Rocketman definitely addresses by labeling itself as a “magical” musical fantasy, there’s still some stuff that doesn’t check out when history and cinema are lined up next to one another.

While this doesn’t spoil the fun and whimsy that Rocketman’s 2019 release has been banking on in its critical reviews, there are some interesting truths that make for interesting comparisons when looking at the facts. So if you’re inclined to separate the facts from the fiction, please enjoy our look into Rocketman’s big differences between the movie life and Elton John's real life.

The Origin Of Elton John's Name Is Half Right

In a big Rocketman moment that plays out across two scenes in the film, young Reginald Dwight is inspired to change his name by two different sources: an early bandmate and John Lennon himself. That second half is particularly interesting as according to the film, Elton drew inspiration from a framed photo of The Beatles in Dick James’ office.

That wasn’t exactly the case in real life history though, as “Elton John” came from two different members of Dwight’s early band, Bluesology. While we saw Elton Dean inspire the first half, it was really singer Long John Baldry who gave him the last name of his alter ego, soon to be his actual name starting in 1972. And before you ask, yes, Hercules is his middle name, so Rocketman isn’t telling lies in that respect.

Elton John And Bernie Taupin’s First Song Wasn't "Border Song"

Elton John and Bernie Taupin are one of the greatest singer/songwriter pairs in musical history, full stop. Apparently, their chemistry was pretty much spot-on from the moment they met through that fateful envelope handed to Elton in a crucial scene in Rocketman. However, as the film would lead you to believe that “Border Song” was their first big collaboration, that is not exactly correct.

In truth, it was really the song “Scarecrow” that saw Elton John and Bernie Taupin record their first song together. Funnily enough, by time they had written and recorded that first song, Elton was still going by his given name, Reginald Dwight.

The Pair Also Wrote Songs For Other Artists Before Elton’s First Album

The Elton John and Bernie Taupin relationship is a subject so voluminous that it could practically take up its own film, so it’s not like Rocketman could cram everything into the story. Another couple of interesting tidbits come out when looking at how their relationship worked in actual history, starting with the fact they didn’t skip straight to pumping out Elton John albums.

Before they would go on to release their first single in 1968, Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote songs for other artists, and even had a song in the Eurovision Song Contest. Though Rocketman kind of touches upon this by mentioning Scottish recording artist Lulu as someone the pair would work with, so it’s not a total omission.

There Were Only Two Albums That Saw Elton John And Bernie Taupin Split Up

While Elton John and Bernie Taupin have technically never had an argument in their 50 years of working together, they did have a break up as depicted in Rocketman. Only, the film would have you believe that it lasted longer than it actually was. While you see Elton John and Bernie Taupin split after a fateful moment on a jet plane, their relationship seems to only have been repaired by Elton’s stay in rehab.

Rocketman’s 2019 version of the story puts that event quite further down the line than history did. In actuality, John and Taupin were only separated for two albums, before they’d start teaming up together again. If you go by how Rocketman tells the tale, the two wouldn’t reunite until 1990, when Elton John finally went to rehab. Keep that piece of information in mind, as it’ll play into other events the film depicts.

Renate Blauel Wasn’t Elton John’s First Engagement

Rocketman shows the short marriage between Elton John and Renate Blauel in even shorter order, as one moment the two are married and in practically the next scene, they break up. Even more interesting is the fact that there was actually almost another marriage that Elton John nearly entered into a long time before those nuptials in 1984.

The 1970s saw Elton John and Linda Woodrow engaged to be married, with the relationship eventually ending by Elton’s choice. While Rocketman shows Elton in a relationship with a landlady, who he ultimately comes out to and breaks up with, that was apparently the substitute for Linda’s story, as well as the fact that Elton John technically wouldn’t come out as a homosexual until after his four-year marriage dissolved. Something that Woodrow herself is a little disappointed in, as she’s gone on record stating she wish she’d played a part in Rocketman’s 2019 narrative.

John Reid Remained Elton John’s Manager For Years After Rocketman's Ending

It’s so easy to want a nice and tidy ending, and Rocketman’s 2019 musical fantasy basically has one. We see Elton John emerge from rehab, with a new song written, his partnership with Bernie Taupin restored, and a new life where he lives in the name of art and love. But there are some details that stick out rather drastically when taking reality into account.

One such detail is that while Elton John made peace with former boyfriend John Reid not exactly being in love with him, the two remained in an artist/manager relationship for quite a long time. In fact, Reid only stopped being Elton John’s manager in 1998, shortly before he retired from management altogether. Yet, if you watch the ending of Rocketman, it feels as if Elton is saying goodbye to him for good before his triumphant closing number.

Elton John Didn’t Miss A Madison Square Garden Gig To Go To Rehab

As the framing device for Elton John’s telling his life story in Rocketman, we see Elton John enter a group therapy session in a bejeweled devil costume and ready to vent. Later in the film, we see Elton John storm out of a show at Madison Square Garden, only to take a cab out to said facility and check himself in.

The truth comes calling once again, as not only did we state that Elton John wouldn’t go to rehab until 1990, it was in Chicago that he would take that big step in his life. Considering you see the World Trade Center in the background as he arrives in rehab, that must have been one hell of a cab ride for the Rocketman protagonist to have taken!

"I’m Still Standing" Happened Before Rocketman’s Finale

Throughout Rocketman, there are a lot of songs played out of historical order. “I Want Love” is one of the most interesting examples of the musical fantasy angle of the film, as while it made its debut on 2004’s “Songs From The West Coast” album, the song pops up in young Reginald Dwight’s family home.

An even bigger switch up in the film is the fact that in Rocketman’s 2019 story, Elton John writes the tune of “I’m Still Standing” after freshly reuniting with lyricist Bernie Taupin. Again, Elton John’s stint in rehab was in 1990, with John and Taupin reuniting 1979 – with more than enough time to spare in order to produce “I’m Still Standing” for its 1983 release.

While these are certainly not all of the differences between Rocketman and Elton John’s life story, they are indeed among the biggest. And even with those changes made to the narrative, the film still works as the musical fantasy it’s labeled as.

If the film hadn’t owned up to its own slightly fictitious nature, then Rocketman’s 2019 tour probably wouldn’t have been as well received. But this is the story that Elton John helped to tell, and since he approves of the film, then as long as it’s codified in the right way, it’s all good. That is exactly the film we’re left to watch and enjoy.

Rocketman is in theaters now, but if you’ve already seen it, you can always take a look at our 2019 release schedule to see what else is rocking in theaters now and in the near future.

Shazam! Just Passed A Box Office Milestone

Shazam! Just Passed A Box Office Milestone

Shazam! was top of the charts for two weeks in a row and just passed the $100 million milestone at the domestic box office.

Shazam! is heading into its third weekend with $104 million on the domestic front and $178 million from the foreign box office for a current total of $282 million worldwide. That's not counting the money it'll pick up this Easter weekend. (Speaking of Easter, don't miss some key Shazam! Easter eggs.)

According to Deadline, Shazam! passed the $100 million mark at the North American market in its 13th day of release.

Are these huge numbers? No, and certainly not for a major superhero movie. But everything about Shazam! has been positive so far, from the critics' reviews (90% on Rotten Tomatoes) to the fan response (A CinemaScore, 88% RT audience score) to the humble and grateful reactions of star Zachary Levi, director David F. Sandberg, and the rest of the cast.

Shazam! had a reported production budget of $100 million, per Box Office Mojo, and that doesn't usually include things like marketing. So Shazam! is just starting to break even and make a profit worldwide.

This weekend, though, Shazam! is expected to take second place to another Warner Bros. movie, The Curse of La Llorona. The Conjuring Universe movie is expected to make around $17 million, with Shazam! following with around $13.5 million. That's just at the domestic box office, and more will be added from foreign markets. Shazam! has already made $40 million in China, the second biggest box office market in the world after us.

Shazam! is technically part of the DC Extended Universe and even originally planned to have an appearance from Superman himself, Henry Cavill. So far, as compared to the previous six DCEU films, Shazam! is squarely at the bottom of that pack. That seems expected -- it was never eyed for massive blockbuster money. Then again, Aquaman was something of a surprise as the first DCEU movie to pass $1 billion, and the highest-grossing DC Comics movie of all time.

At the domestic box office, Shazam!'s current $104 million is just below Justice League's $229 million, and they are far below the current domestic leader, Wonder Woman, who has $412.5 million. Worldwide, Aquaman is the overall champ with a current total of $1.14 billion. Justice League is at the bottom of that pack, other than Shazam! (which is still earning money), with the Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon movie making $657.9 million total.

Shazam! has a long to way to go in its journey, but do you think it has any hopes of beating Justice League at the box office, or will it stay #7 on the list of the seven DCEU movies so far? There's no shame in it. Someone has to be the scrappy underdog.

Besides, there's a long way up from here. Shazam! could potentially lead to several sequels, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Black Adam movie, which he's already plugging a year before filming.

Shazam! is still playing in theaters as one of the many movies worth watching in 2019. Come back to CinemaBlend Easter Sunday afternoon for our full box office report on how Shazam! fared against the many new releases out this week.

Avengers Endgame Box Office: A Strong Opening From Detective Pikachu Isn't Enough

Avengers Endgame Box Office: A Strong Opening From Detective Pikachu Isn't Enough

For the first time since it began its run a few weeks ago, Avengers: Endgame was actually tested at the weekend box office. The latest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe got all it could handle thanks to a strong opening weekend from Detective Pikachu, but in the end, Cap and company are still hanging out on top. They did just enough to keep the first place position though it's hard to imagine anyone involved with the Pokemon Company is too upset about an opening over $50M.

You can check out the full results from this weekend's box office, including those from newcomers Detective Pikachu, The Hustle, Poms and Tolkien below...

This third weekend for Avengers: Endgame is probably a combination of word of mouth and repeat business. Most people who desperately want to see a movie that's heavy on spoilers will find a way to get there the first two weekends. So, the people left can probably be divided into two groups: those who were on the fence about seeing it and got talked into it by the overwhelming positivity and those who enjoyed it so much they felt the need to go back. Anecdotally, we've heard that a lot in our comment section here at CinemaBlend. People keep making comments like, "I noticed X on my second time through" or "I can't wait to see whether my viewpoint on X changes when I see it a second/ third time." So, you can deliver all of that credit to the people involved with the production itself. Disney might have an incredible hype machine to deliver on opening weekend, but that machine isn't delivering these results on the third weekend.

As for Detective Pikachu, $58M is a really solid opening weekend for a movie with an estimated $150M budget. There have been high high hopes for awhile from both the studio and from fans that the film would produce enough of a result to a launch a larger Pokemon-themed cinematic universe. I wouldn't say it's done enough yet, but that possibility is very much in play right now. As such, fans should keep their fingers crossed for a solid second weekend, some strong social media buzz and engagement and eventually good home entertainment sales.

Outside of Detective Pikachu, it's hard to be excited about any of the openings for new films this weekend. The Hustle at least broke eight figures in domestic grosses, but the reviews on it have not been good and it's hard to imagine a scenario in which it put up a good performance next weekend. The same could be said for Poms, though it's 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes makes it look like Toy Story 3 compared to The Hustle which was hammered (including by us) with a miserable 16%.

Things should get very interesting next weekend when John Wick 3 is added to the release schedule. I'd expect a first place finish for the assassin, but as we saw this week, Avengers: Endgame certainly isn't going down without a fight.

Ralph Fiennes Almost Turned Down Playing Voldemort In Harry Potter

Ralph Fiennes Almost Turned Down Playing Voldemort In Harry Potter

There are certain film villains who are on the upper echelon in terms of being iconic and beloved by moviegoers. Darth Vader is the big bad of space, while Lord Voldemort is a wizard in the Harry Potter franchise who characters fear to even speak of. So when it came to adapting the Dark Lord for the silver screen, Warner Bros. had the difficult task of finding an actor to play the snake-like scourge on the Wizarding World.

Ultimately the great Ralph Fiennes played Lord Voldemort, playing the character for a whopping five Harry Potter movies. Fiennes' performance was layered and super creepy, but it turns out that the Schindler's List actor originally didn't want to take the role of he who must not be named. He recently explained this, and how his family helped him change his mind. As he tells it,

The truth is I was actually ignorant about the films and the books. I was approached by the production. Mike Newell was directing the film that they wanted me to be in… the first time Voldemort was going to appear physically. Out of ignorance I just sort of thought, this isn’t for me… Quite stupidly I resisted, I was hesitant. I think the clincher was that my sister Martha – who has three children who were then probably about 12, 10 and 8 – she said, 'What do you mean? You’ve got to do it!' So then I rewound my thinking.

It looks like we all owe Ralph Fiennes nieces and nephews a big thank you. While he was originally hesitant to join the massive Harry Potter franchise, the younger members of his family were able to convince him otherwise. Because if you can play the villain of the beloved novels and movies, why would you turn it down?

Ralph Fiennes' comments from The Jonathan Ross Show (via Digital Spy) are sure to baffle Harry Potter fans, who have grown to love his performance as Voldemort. Fiennes was completely transformed into the dark wizard, with prosthesis forming his snakelike appearance, while the actor adjusted his voice and posture to fully inhabit Voldemort. As such, it's impossible to think of anyone else playing the adult form of Tom Riddle.

Ralph Fiennes had previously spoke to his trepidation about playing Voldemort. The actor reportedly wasn't a fan of the first two Harry Potter movies, which were directed by Chris Columbus. The franchise took a more adult turn when Fiennes eventually popped up in The Goblet of Fire, which may have been what the actor was hoping for-- especially when playing the most evil Wizard ever.

It should be interesting to see if Voldemort becomes part of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. There are still three more movies on the way, as the timeline gets closer to the one explored in the Harry Potter franchise. Voldemort visited Grindelwald in prison in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1, so they've clearly got some type of a relationship. Could Ralph Fiennes end up popping up again as you know who? Fingers crossed.

Ralph Fiennes is currently filming Kingsman: The Great Game, and is expected to reprise his role as M in Bond 25. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The Fast And Furious Movies In Order: The Best Way To Watch The Fast And Furious Franchise

The Fast And Furious Movies In Order: The Best Way To Watch The Fast And Furious Franchise

Warning: SPOILERS for the Fast and Furious movies are in play. Just in case you haven’t seen them, you can read the order of how the films play out chronologically, and then come back later once you’ve experienced the series in its entirety.

We’re in an interesting juncture in the Fast and Furious franchise, as we won’t be seeing the ninth film in the series proper until next year. This is despite the fact that The Fate of the Furious was unleashed upon the world in 2017, and while we’re all on board with good things coming to those who wait, we’re anxious to see what happens next.

That being said, there is some excitement on the horizon in the world of this supercharged franchise, as Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw will be holding court in their own blockbuster spin-off, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. And while you probably won’t need to see the films that came before this one in the series proper to truly enjoy it, it’s a long wait until August, and it certainly couldn’t hurt.

It also doesn’t help that the titles to the Fast and Furious films don’t exactly spell out the proper viewing order. So once and for all, in the name of franchise fans new and old, we’d like to nail down the correct order for your next Fast and Furious movie binge. Buckle up, because not only is it time for driving puns, it’s time to live your life in the name of family, a quarter mile at a time. Let's start off by laying out the Fast and Furious movies in order of how they were released.

The Fast And The Furious (2001)

The starting line for the franchise, The Fast and the Furious was inspired by real life street races and a Vice article that covered their existence. This might come as a shock to people who tend to remember the more recent films better, but Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner and Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto started out as adversaries on opposite sides of the law.

Brian at this point is an undercover cop who's trying to send Dom and his family up the river through an extensive sting operation. However, by the end of the film, both are brothers in arms and ready to start an entire franchise of action. At least, that was the eventual intent, as there would be two sequels that would try to redefine the formula of the series without Vin Diesel’s contributions.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

With the focus put on Brian O’Conner this time out, Paul Walker was the central lead for 2 Fast 2 Furious. As such, there was a need to explore a new setting with Miami, as well as introduce a couple new characters to aid in his investigation of a local drug lord. Which, of course, involves some fast street racing through various Florida based locations.

The second of the Fast and Furious movies, 2 Fast 2 Furious introduced two characters that would eventually return to the series fold down the line: Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce, and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ Tej Parker. They won’t be seen for a couple more films though, as another huge shift is about to take place in the Fast and Furious universe.

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

As if 2 Fast 2 Furious’ problem of having a lack of Vin Diesel wasn’t bad enough, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift lacked any significant participation from any of the series’ lead actors. This prompted an entirely new story to be told, through even more new characters. Introducing Lucas Black’s Sean Boswell and Sung Kang’s Han Lue into the series, the film tells the story of Sean being forced to move to Tokyo after getting into some legal trouble with some fast cars back in the U.S.

With Sean’s introduction to drift racing on the streets of Tokyo, the fast paced excitement of Fast and Furious franchise history had finally gone global, introducing new characters that would return later down the line in the series’ history. Han would become an especially crucial member to the team in subsequent films, despite his character meeting a fiery death in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. And while it wasn’t a significant role, Vin Diesel does return as Dom at the very end of the film, tying this installment even tighter to series continuity, as well as presenting another chronological problem.

Fast And Furious (2009)

Eight years after the original adventures of The Fast and the Furious, the franchise started to hit the stride that it currently enjoys with its run of films. Pretty much the entire original cast of that first film is back, though the plot of this fourth film, strangely titled Fast and Furious, sees the death of Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty kick off a quest for vengeance on the part of Dom and Brian.

Bringing back Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster for the first time since they starred in The Fast and the Furious, Sung Kang’s Han Lue is folded into the overarching group in Fast and Furious, with Gal Gadot also being brought in as Gisele, one of Dom’s substitute love interests while Letty is out of the picture. From this point on, while some characters would shift in and out of the group, the core cast of Diesel, Walker and Brewster would remain for a while, with some new friends to be added along the way.

Fast Five (2011)

After tangling with drug cartels and organized crime through the power of street racing for four straight films, the Fast and Furious movies were about to take a hard left into the heist genre. Dom, Brian, and the gang would solidify into a cohesive unit, tying together even more of the series’ rogues gallery into the team on Fast Five’s mission to rob a Brazilian crime lord blind.

Returning to the group in Fast Five are Han Lue, as well as Tyrese Gibson’s Roman, Chris Bridges’ Tej and Gal Gadot’s Gisele; and in the role of Dom’s latest romantic person of interest was Elsa Pataky’s Elena. But perhaps the greatest addition this time out was in the film’s law bound antagonist and later ally to the Toretto family team, DSS agent Luke Hobbs. With Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson making an explosive entry into the series with this film, things would truly never be the same.

Fast And Furious 6 (2013)

Remember how Letty supposedly died two films back? Surprise, she’s still alive! Michelle Rodriguez returned in Fast and Furious 6 as an associate to the film’s villain, ex-MI6 agent-turned heel Owen Shaw. Played by Luke Evans, Owen’s inclusion would allow the Fast and Furious movies to tap a new vein of antagonists that would turn teammates with the Shaw family.

Fast and Furious 6 also continued the series’ evolution from a street racing franchise into one that involved high-tech espionage and big ticket thievery. Needless to say, Dom, Brian and Mia all return, as well as Roman, Tej, Han and Hobbs. Though the mid-credits sequence of this film does put Han’s story to a final end, as his fatal accident is refolded into canon with a new assailant responsible for his death: Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, looking for revenge after the team’s foiling of Owen’s plot in Fast and Furious 6.

Furious 7 (2015)

Properly introducing the character of Deckard Shaw into the Fast and Furious series, Furious 7 saw the brother of the now comatose Owen Shaw coming not only vengeance, but also for a rather shady piece of technology that could be a surveillance nightmare if in the wrong hands. For the last time, we see poor Han’s death through a fiery wreck, and for the first time we see Kurt Russell’s cool as ice DSS handler, code-named Mr. Nobody.

Furious 7 also ties up some loose ends with the re-introduction of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’s Sean Boswell, setting him up for further films down the line of the franchise. Sadly, this would also be the final appearance of Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner, as Walker's untimely death in an automobile accident prompted those behind the series’ story to retire the character at the end of this film.

The Fate Of The Furious (2017)

The last film in the line of proper entries to the Fast and Furious franchise, The Fate of the Furious sees Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto breaking bad, under the influence of Charlize Theron’s new baddie Cipher. Apparently the mastermind behind turning Owen Shaw in Fast and Furious 6, her efforts have been behind each major threat through the last two films, with her aim being to cause irrevocable global chaos.

Returning to fight alongside the rest of Dom’s team are Dwayne Johnson’s DSS Agent Luke Hobbs, as well as Jason Statham’s controversial addition to the hero roster, Deckard Shaw; the two members of the Fast and Furious movie team that would go on to have their own spinoff in this summer’s Hobbs and Shaw. While Dom does return to the side of good, it comes at the cost of Elsa Pataky’s Elena, who is killed in the line of duty by Cipher.

With the full rundown of the Fast and Furious movies now complete, it’s time to think real hard about what order to watch them in. Because believe it or not, with one quick alteration, the story makes so much more sense in the long run. even if the real world timing doesn’t exactly work out in its favor.

The Right Order To Watch The Fast And Furious Movies In

If you want to experience the Fast and Furious movies in the right order, there’s only one movie that needs to be shifted in place. While technically running as the third film in the chronological order, you can take The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and slot it in before Furious 7 in your watching order. This not only puts Han’s death into proper context, it also leads straight into the seventh film’s integration of the event into its own storyline.

Alternatively, if you really wanted to, you could drop the film out of your watching order altogether. Not only would this leave Lucas Black’s Sean Boswell with a clean slate for his eventual return to the Fast and Furious movies, it wouldn’t impact the storyline all that much as all the vital components are already wound into the series’ narrative through Fast and Furious 6 and Furious 7’s storylines.

We hope that this crash course in Fast and Furious history has helped you figure out which order to watch the franchise in, as well as the correct order in terms of chronological release. Who knows, you might be quizzed on the titles and their running orders at a bar quiz in the near future. Or a friend might trust you to set them straight on how The Fast and the Furious started it all, but it took the film three sequels to get Fast and Furious.

The point is, the information you need to navigate this high velocity thrill ride of a franchise is right at your fingertips, and now you’ll never need to worry about whether or not you’re watching the Fast and Furious movies correctly.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking forward to Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, you’ll only have to wait until August 2 to see that particular end result. Though should you want to get some action into your movie watching lineup before then, take a look at our 2019 release schedule to see what else is waiting on the road to August.

Why Black Panther Almost Cost Winston Duke His Role In Jordan Peele's Us

Why Black Panther Almost Cost Winston Duke His Role In Jordan Peele's Us

Last year, Black Panther took the U.S. by storm and became one of the highest grossing movies of all time. The film was packed with standout characters like Shuri and Okoye, but M'Baku became a surprise scene-stealer. Winston Duke brought some serious charisma to the imposing M'Baku, and while Black Panther helped put the actor on the map, it almost cost him a role in Jordan Peele's Us. The director said he initially thought Duke might be too tough for the horror movie.

It would take away from our ability to feel afraid [for the family] if they have M'Baku on their side. [On the other hand] Winston had this charisma that just stole scenes and really left an impression.

Jordan Peele's highly anticipated (and rated) Us finds Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke playing a wife and husband who take their two children on vacation in a beach town, only to be stalked by strangers who look exactly like them. It's hella spooky and frightening, but I bet you'd feel a little safer if you had M'Baku on your side.

Jordan Peele was thinking the same thing, which is why he was originally hesitant about casting Winston Duke in his new horror film. Duke is a physically strong man, so would people be scared for this family knowing the dad fought aliens with the Avengers last summer?

Thankfully, Jordan Peele decided that Duke's charisma overpowered any of his physical might and that he was ultimately a great fit for the role. Just listen to how he sang "I Got 5 On It" in that trailer! That's charisma city.

Also, if the family is attacked by doppelgangers, then that means Duke's doppelganger is also tough-looking. If the father character was "weaker" or less imposing then the same would be true for the enemy, and then the audience would be left wondering why this guy is supposed to be scary.

Either way, Winston Duke is happy that he was cast in the role. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he loved playing M'Baku, but he was receiving offers for a lot of tough guy parts after Black Panther, so he was thankful to get the opportunity in Us.

I was in conversation for a lot of [roles in which] the character was a fighter, a big guy — he's aggressive, a warrior. I loved playing M'Baku, but that's not who I am. I want to convey the full spectrum of masculinity. I want people to say that this guy helped change the definition of masculinity onscreen 40 years from now. I’m trying to be that person.

Us will take the world by storm and arrives in theaters on March 22. It's already got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so we are beyond hyped to see this thing. Check out our 2019 movie release guide for everything else hitting theaters.