First Joker Poster Will Creep You Out

First Joker Poster Will Creep You Out

The DC live-action universe has had a fascinating life in theaters, full of peaks and valleys. Despite the success of Wonder Woman, the DCEU seemed in jeopardy after the poor reception of Batman v Superman and Justice League. But Warner Bros. seems to have pivoted away from serialized storytelling and ensemble projects, instead allowing filmmakers to work on a project unencumbered by crossovers.

Perhaps the biggest example of this is Todd Phillips' Joker, which will give the Clown Prince of Crime an origin story. The upcoming spinoff will be disconnected from the rest of the DCEU, and will star Joaquin Phoenix as the title character instead of Jared Leto. Phillips recently debuted the film's first poster, while also revealing that a trailer is (finally) coming shortly. Check it out.

Does anyone else have the chills? The Joker has always been a beloved and scary aspect of Batman lore, and this first Joker poster shows what an intimate look we'll get at the villain. And the teaser trailer is coming in just one day.

The above Joker poster has the title character largely absent, with this painted face taking up only the last quarter of the space. But it's a powerful image, that teases the emotionality and violence we'll be privy to when the film arrives in theaters this coming October. Joaquin Phoenix is shown in full makeup, although it looks like he's got some blood smeared on his face as well. There are tears in the characters' eyes, while his makeup keeps a grin painted on his face. That's what the tagline references, saying "Put on a happy face."

Joker will follow the title character, and watch as he eventually starts a life of chaos and destruction as the Clown Prince of Crime. But Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck won't start off as a violent anarchist. Instead, he'll be a failing standup comic, and a clown. Audiences will watch as he descends into madness, and eventually becomes the villain we know and love. The project will also reportedly focus quite a bit on Arthur's mental illness, explaining how he ends up becoming Batman's biggest foe.

The entire concept of a Joker origin story is somewhat counterintuitive, as part of the character's appeal is his mysterious background. Just look at Heath Ledger's characterization in The Dark Knight. His scars had a different story every time he told it, and his mysterious unknown only makes him more terrified and unhinged. As such, Joker will be in stark juxtaposition to that version, as the audience is privy to the psychological and emotional traumas that result in the title character's birth.

Todd Phillips has assembled an impressive cast to join Joaquin Phoenix in this unique take on a comic book movie. Robert De Niro has a role, as well as GLOW's Marc Maron and Deadpool 2 standout Zazie Beetz and Frances Conroy. The movie will also be connected to the Batman lore by including Thomas Wayne as a major character.

Joker will arrive in theaters on October 4th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Mark Hamill Is Totally Into The First Joker Trailer

Mark Hamill Is Totally Into The First Joker Trailer

A lot of opinions are flying around out there pertaining to just what to think of the new Joker film that’s set to debut this fall. While fans of the character are certainly one of the most of the most vocal bodies of response out there, someone quite close to the character has just thrown down their two cents. And as you’ll see in the tweet below, Mark Hamill himself is very much on the accepting side of this new film.

If anyone were to pass on the torch of playing this iconic prince of crime, Hamill would certainly qualify as one such party. Portraying the character on and off through voice-over work between 1992 and the present era, Mark Hamill is synonymous with the role of The Joker, as his work on Batman: The Animated Series only further entrenched the already popular character into the pop culture consciousness. So knowing how connected he is to the role, it’s particularly exciting to see him approve of this bold move forward for the character.

Seeing Mark Hamill approve of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, via this post in his personal Twitter, is kind of like when Tom Holland, the director of Child’s Play, piped up with his approval of Hamill taking over the role of Chucky for the MGM branded reboot. Though a closer analogue would be if actor Brad Dourif happened to chime in with blessing, that’s the closest example we have to how cool this seal of approval really is. And it is indeed, pretty damned cool.

With Joker’s new incarnation of the character, the proceedings look like they’re going to get grittier and possibly more disturbing than we’ve ever seen before. Or at the very least, the disturbing stuff is going to hit closer to home, as the iconic world of Gotham and its most infamous villain look as grounded as when Christopher Nolan unveiled his version of the character, played by the late Heath Ledger, in his Dark Knight Trilogy.

As history has taught us, this doesn’t always go over well with folks who are as associated with a character as Mark Hamill is. But, in true Hamill fashion, you could picture the man smiling in his chair, waiting to get a load of what Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips will bring to the lexicon of lunacy that Arthur Fleck is about to enter.

Joker smiles for the camera on October 4th, with Child’s Play hitting June 21st. But if you want to get some villainy or heroism into your life a lot sooner than that, you should visit our 2019 release calendar to find it.

Fantastic Four Director's Perfect Tweet Reminds Us Superhero Movies Can Fail

Fantastic Four Director's Perfect Tweet Reminds Us Superhero Movies Can Fail

Many superhero movies like to emphasize that their characters are flawed but, more often than not, they still save the day and slay at the box office. But not all superheroes win in the end. This weekend, Captain Marvel raced to a $153 million domestic opening, leading at least one pontificator to spout that no superhero movie fails. Well, Josh Trank -- director of the ill-fated 2015 Fantastic Four movie -- had something to say about that:

Burn. On himself. It's true, though. Captain Marvel's domestic gross alone is already almost more than Fantastic Four made during its entire worldwide run. Not that Fantastic Four is the only movie to tank (or Trank?). Still, since he brought it up...

Fantastic Four only made $56,117,548 at the domestic box office and $111,860,048 internationally for a total of $167,977,596 worldwide. That's just four years ago, and it only made $168 million worldwide. That was off a reported production budget of at least $120 million, per Box Office Mojo, and the film was ultimately said to have lost around $100 million.

That's not good.

Captain Marvel has already made $455 million worldwide, and it just opened. And Captain Marvel isn't even the biggest superhero movie of all time. It may or may not follow previous MCU movies and the DC movies that have crossed the $1 billion mark. But clearly it's doing a lot better than Fantastic Four ever did, and it's not a given that any and every superhero movie will succeed. That was the self-deprecating point Josh Trank seemed to be making. Sometimes superhero movies do fail.

Fox's 2015 adaptation of the Marvel Comics characters was panned by both critics and fans. Fantastic Four only has a 9% rating from critics and 18% rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. It got a C- CinemaScore from polled moviegoers. It "won" Razzies for Worst Director; Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel; and Worst Picture (tying with Fifty Shades of Grey).

Fantastic Four was infamously troubled, with Josh Trank reportedly clashing with 20th Century Fox. A lot of blame was put at his doorstep, alleging the director behaved erratically. Trank criticized the final cut right before its release, writing in a later deleted tweet, "A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would've received great reviews. You'll probably never see it. That's reality though."

One of the Fantastic Four producers tried to explain what went wrong, saying it wasn't just one thing. One of the screenwriters also apologized to fans for the movie going wrong.

You could blame lack of interest in Fantastic Four vs. other Marvel characters, but the 2005 Fantastic Four movie -- the one with Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch -- made $330.5 million worldwide. That's not exactly blockbuster level these days, but it was off a reported $100 million production budget. So a modest profit was probably made.

Still, it is pretty rare for major superhero movies to fail these days. The DCEU took a beating from critics for a while -- and there was certainly trouble behind-the-scenes, especially with Justice League -- but even the least successful of the six DCEU movies (Justice League) made $658 million worldwide. Meanwhile, the least successful MCU movie was The Incredible Hulk in 2008, which "only" made $263.5 million worldwide off a reported production budget of $150 million. Halle Berry's Catwoman only made $82.1 million in 2004 (off a reported $100 budget), and Green Lantern also only made $219.8 million worldwide in 2011 (reported $200 million budget).

This is not to restart the never-ending Marvel vs. DC battle. It's just to show it's rare but not unheard of for a superhero movie to flop the way Fantastic Four did. We keep hearing that moviegoers just love superhero movies -- like we'll see anything with a superhero in it -- but it's clearly not that simple. Just let it be a lesson, a reminder, a fear to keep your kids in line. This too could happen to YOU if you don't eat your vegetables and finish your homework.

Now that Fox and Disney are joining forces, and the Fox Marvel characters will fall under Disney's Marvel umbrella, fans are curious to see what might happen with characters like the X-Men and Fantastic Four.

As we wait for updates on that front, keep up with everything that's playing in theaters this year with our handy 2019 movie schedule.

Marvel Boss 'Heartbroken' About Black Panther's Oscar Loss

Marvel Boss 'Heartbroken' About Black Panther's Oscar Loss

A decade after the injustice of The Dark Knight’s Best Picture snub, a superhero movie was finally nominated for the Academy Awards’ highest honor. That film was Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, a box office behemoth and cultural phenomenon that went on to collect three golden statues, but missed out on Best Picture. That was a disappointment to many, including Avi Arad, the former Marvel Studios CEO and Chairman and longtime Marvel producer. Speaking about Black Panther’s Oscar loss, Avi Arad said:

I was heartbroken that Black Panther didn’t get the Academy. It could have, but you know, [the voters] they always looked at superheroes like it was a ‘Yabba dabba doo’ kind of a thing versus something that mattered or something that was going to last.

Despite no longer being with Marvel Studios, Avi Arad was still rooting for Black Panther to get the win for Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards, so much so that he was heartbroken when the statue went to Green Book instead. Avi Arad clearly believed that Black Panther was deserving of the award, but as he told Deadline, he thinks that Academy voters still look at superheroes as some Fred Flintstone silliness that is beneath more traditional Oscar films.

That Academy bias against from superhero movies is well established, but the tide has slowly begun to turn, especially after The Dark Knight, with movies like Logan earning an Oscar nomination and Black Panther’s 7 nominations. Nevertheless, Avi Arad still seems to believe that some voters feel that superhero movies don’t matter and won’t stand the test of time.

You can certainly understand Avi Arad’s investment in comic book movies and desire to see them not only succeed, but also be recognized as art with value that is deserving of the kind of recognition that films considered more highbrow receive. Avi Arad has been working on Marvel projects for decades and believes in the brand.

Avi Arad was an executive producer on the beloved 90s X-Men animated series, and the 2000 X-Men film that began the comic book movie age. He’s had his hands in the genre’s highs like Spider-Man 2 and its lows like Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. It must mean a lot to him to see the genre come so far, and it makes sense that he would want it to finally attain the respect and legitimacy that a Best Picture win rightfully or wrongly confers.

Alas, Black Panther did not win Best Picture, but it did win three other Oscars: Best Costume Design, Best Original Score and Best Production Design. Avi Arad wanted it to win more, but Best Picture was always a long shot and it is certainly a trend in the right direction. And he is far from the only one who is disappointed with how Best Picture turned out.

The night wasn’t a total loss though, far from it. Through his Avi Arad Productions, Avi Arad was a producer on Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

The next Marvel film Avi Arad is a producer on is this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, continuing the producer’s long tenure with the web-slinger. Far From Home hits theaters on July 5. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the biggest movies coming your way this year.

I'm More Excited About The MCU's Future Now That Endgame Is Over

I'm More Excited About The MCU's Future Now That Endgame Is Over

I loved Avengers: Endgame as much as anybody. While I'm not quite ready to say it's my favorite movie ever, though some are, I was absolutely shocked at how satisfying it all was. However, at the same time, as I think about Endgame now, I find myself not so much thinking about what happened as I am thinking about what is going to happen. The best part about Endgame is that it's over and now some really interesting stuff can happen in the MCU.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe takes it cues from the comic books that came before it. The entire interconnected continuity concept was born from the simple idea that all the Marvel comics take place in the same world, and that individual adventures are happening more or less simultaneously with each other.

However, while Marvel's comics have been going on for decades, and a host of interesting stories have taken place, some things have been constant throughout. Mainly, the heroes themselves.

Occasionally, as part of a big story line, we'll see major characters die or otherwise change. Steve Rogers has been killed before and others, like Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, have taken on the mantle of Captain America. Peter Parker has had his body taken over by the consciousness of Doctor Octopus. Comics are weird.

However, in the case of the comics, the story always returns to the status quo. Steve Rogers is always Captain America again. Peter Parker is always Spider-Man again, even if other, similar heroes are born from these changes.

And this is why Endgame's conclusion has me excited. It certainly seemed going in that the plan was for some parts of the MCU to reach a true end, and while it was always possible the franchise could chicken out in some way, it did not. The way the story ended, it seems like the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done something the comics have never had to do: change permanently.

Tony Stark is dead. Steve Rogers has passed his shield on to Sam Wilson, apparently making him the new Captain America. These changes are almost certainly going to progress through the MCU for a long time, and likely forever.

Even before we knew the ultimate fates of some of these characters, we knew that MCU was going to be a different place in the future because the five year time jump was going to be kept. Rather than resetting the MCU back to at or before Thanos' snap, five years of time has still moved forward for half the universe.

While the possibility of a Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans appearance in the future of the MCU isn't entirely off the table, the fact is that bringing these guys back for the long term would be incredibly expensive. And while the profit on Avengers: Endgame is probably enough that Marvel could afford RDJ for a few more years, that doesn't seem likely to happen.

Part of the problem when Steve Rogers dies in the comics is that you know he'll be back eventually. This makes whatever happens in between feel less important. In fact, frequently, the point of bringing in a new person to play a particular role is get fans back on board with the standard bearer when things begin to get stale.

However, here, the MCU has to try and get the audience to buy into new heroes completely. If you decide you don't like Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, whether or not that's what he's actually called, you can't just wait around until the storyline that brings back Chris Evans gets here. That's not going to happen.

Marvel Studios needs to get the audience on board with these new heroes. These are the people who are going to carry thing for the next several years.

With the new MCU, we simply don't know what's going to happen next. We may still get more Captain America movies, but they will star an entirely new character, and as such will be very different. We might even get a new Iron Man movie at some point, but again, it's not going to be anything like the ones that we've already seen.

In addition to the fact that old characters are moving away and letting characters that had been supporting heroes take the lead, there's also the fact that, with the five year time jump that the MCU received in Endgame, the world looks like a very different place which also means entirely new young heroes. We saw that Scott Lang's daughter Cassie was not eliminated by Thanos' snap. so she's now five years older compared to all those who were brought back to life or stuck in the Quantum Realm. In Marvel Comics, she becomes a hero in her own right and is now just about the right age to do that in the MCU.

I have no idea where things are going in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there are a few places where I'm confident things won't go, and that's exciting. I'm confident we're not going to simply be brought back around to the beginning. That works on the page, where the characters never need to age, but on the big screen, one way or another, time passes.

This first step, with Sam Wilson carrying the shield and Iron Man gone, among other minor changes, isn't a step into entirely new territory, but because we won't be taking any steps backwards, where things go from here is still mostly uncharted. Every potential change from here on out happens in an MCU where these other changes have happened.

Whatever the MCU ends up doing with the Fantastic Four or the X-Men, they'll never meet Tony Stark or Steve Rogers. These may seem like small details, and maybe they will be, but they could also push the storytelling into entirely fresh directions. The repercussions of a world without the original Captain America can be drawn out much further than they ever have been in the comics.

Phase 4 of the MCU will certainly be a different world, but more importantly, so will Phase 5, 6 or however many more of these we're going to get. Every change has the potential to compound those that came before. I honestly hope the MCU really does keep going because the more things change in real, permanent ways, the more opportunity we'll have to see really inventive stories that we might never see in a comic book world where things never change all that much.

The Story Behind Captain America’s Butt In Avengers: Endgame

The Story Behind Captain America’s Butt In Avengers: Endgame

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame. Don't read on if you haven't seen it!

After a long year of waiting, Avengers: Endgame is in the midst of its theatrical run, and making an insane amount of money in the process. The Russo Brothers managed to do the impossible, surpassing Infinity War, and cramming in everything and the kitchen sink in the process. While the stakes were at an all-time high in the wake of Thanos' snap, there were still plenty of comedic beats put into the massive blockbuster.

One of the best recurring bits in Avengers: Endgame were focused on Captain America's superpowered butt. Dubbed "America's ass" during the film, it's a joke that pays off big time in the time heist. When Steve Rogers fights and defeats a past version of himself, he admires the doppleganger's backside. Now Endgame writer Stephen McFeely has opened up about that joke's origin, saying:

It's a little meta. Chris Evans has never been comfortable with that outfit from the first Avengers movie. And so in the rearview, it's a little way to wink at how that was then, and this is now. And then it sort of just built from there. By the time we got to the fight scene where he defeated himself, his butt is on the ground and he was just sitting there for a callback.

Joss Whedon's The Avengers might have made history and blown our minds when it hit theaters in 2012, but there was an issue that Chris Evans had: his costume. And it's that disdain that ultimately fueled "America's ass" to get one final laugh during Endgame's second act.

Stephen McFeely's comments to LA Times shows how organically things can develop in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there's still a larger narrative to consider, directors and writers are given the freedom to do their jobs, and make creative choices. Avengers: Endgame talks about Captain America's butt quite a few times, but the bit wasn't simply written for the movie. It came from a real life conversation between Chris Evans and the creative team of the movie.

Related: Paul Rudd Has A Valid Concern Over Ant-Man And Thanos’ Butt Theory For Endgame

As far as Captain America's costumes go, the one used in The Avengers is definitely more cartoonish. It's super colorful and carries less armor, in stark juxtaposition to the tactical gear he rocked in later appearances. But while the newer costumes may be more gritty and cool, you've got to admire just how colorful Joss Whedon made the first Avengers movie. It's too bad Chris Evans hated how his butt looked in the suit.

Avengers: Endgame's time heist was bigger and more ambitious than anyone of us could have imagined, and The Battle of New York from The Avengers ended up being a very important setting. Three different stones were in the city at that point, and a sizable team of Avengers traveled back to procure them. This put the modern Captain America in contact with Crossbones of 2012, as well as a past version of himself.

Two Captain Americas duking out was a wild and thrilling sequence, and the callback to Steve Roger's ass was icing in the cake of a masterful sequence. And the joke about Cap's backside likely worked so well because it came from a place of truth.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

What It's Like To Work With Sylvester Stallone On Rambo V: Last Blood

What It's Like To Work With Sylvester Stallone On Rambo V: Last Blood

Sylvester Stallone will be returning to one of his classic action hero characters later this year in Rambo V: Last Blood. It will be the first time in over a decade that Stallone has played the character of John Rambo, but based on the testimony of his co-stars, the actor hasn't lost a step. In fact, quite the opposite, Stallone is a consummate performer and ever the professional.

Dimitri Thivaios is one of those costars and according to him, he learned more about acting watching Sylvester Stallone work than by actually taking classes. According to Thivaios...

[It] was amazing — he’s a hard-working , true professional that sees everything happening on set. You just get sucked into that vibe. I learned more from watching him work him in the time we were shooting than I did in all my years of acting class.

Sylvester Stallone shares a screenplay credit on Rambo V: Last Blood in addition to starring as the lead, so he's much more than simply an actor here. However, it seems clear based on Dimitri Thivaios' comments that Stallone had almost a director's perspective on the film, paying attention to everything that was happening on set. While Stallone isn't the director here, he's had more than his share of experience in the job, and thus probably uses those skills at all times.

Dimitri Thivaios is fairly new to acting, having made his career in the music industry under the name Dimitri Vegas. He's had a few roles in film and on TV in the past but they've been pretty small parts up until now. Exactly what role he's playing in Rambo V: Last Blood has not been revealed so it's unclear if it's another bit part or something more substantial.

The story will see John Rambo go from his family ranch in Arizona into Mexico after the daughter of a friend is taken by members of a cartel.

While the Rambo franchise doesn't have quite the passionate fan base that the Rocky movies have had, it is still a well loved character. Dimitri Thivaios himself says he has a particular attachment to the film as tells Variety that First Blood, the original film in the series, was likely the first action movie he ever saw as a kid.

He had to see it behind his mother's back, which isn't surprising. First Blood isn't just a bloody and violent action movie, it's fairly disturbing one, as, while John Rambo is the hero, he's also a man dealing with some serious issues as a result of his service in Vietnam.

Based on the title of the fifth installment, it doesn't feel like a stretch to believe that Rambo V: Last Blood will be the final part of this series. We'll see how John Rambo ends his story September 20.