James McAvoy Would Play The Riddler For DC

James McAvoy Would Play The Riddler For DC

It's no secret that superhero movies are everywhere. The comic book genre has proved the most profitable and popular genre in the industry, so plenty of studios and filmmakers are trying to get in on the fun. With multiple cinematic universes battling for box office supremacy, a ton of talented actors have adapted iconic characters from the page to the screen. In fact, actors like Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, Chris Evans, and Ryan Reynolds have played multiple comic book characters in their careers.

James McAvoy has put in the hours himself, playing Professor X for the last four X-Men movies. But with that franchise's future unclear in the wake of the Disney and Fox merger, the time might come for him to hop onto another comic book franchise. When asked who he might like to play on the DC side of things, he recently revealed he was interesting in Batman's Edward Nygma aka The Riddler. McAvoy said:

The Riddler, maybe. Always liked him when I was growing up. I’ve always thought DC does really good bad guys.

Do you hear that noise? It's the sound of countless comic book fans cheering in joy. The Riddler hasn't been on the big screen since 1995's Batman Forever, as Jim Carrey played the character with ample supplies of campy energy-- fitting perfectly in with Joel Schumacher's vision for the franchise.

James McAvoy's comments come from his recent Instagram Live video, which was captured and immortalized on Twitter. While he didn't broach the subject of a DC role by himself, he did reveal which character he would like to inhabit, if given the choice. That was none other than the genius Batman villain The Riddler. He also acknowledged that DC knows what it's doing in regards to villains.

Now might be the perfect time to bring The Riddler to the DCEU, as Gotham City looks like it'll become a more important setting in the shared universe. Birds Of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) will feature plenty of Gotham City denizens, and Matt Reeves is also developing his movie, The Batman. The latter will reportedly feature Batman's rogues gallery, so could that include The Riddler?

The Riddler hasn't been seen on the big screen since back Jim Carrey portrayed him in Batman Forever. Joel Schumacher took over the Batman franchise from Tim Burton, and made it more colorful and kid friendly. As such, Carrey primarily flexed his comedic muscles for his version of Edward Nygma, sharing an over the top dynamic with Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face.

On the small screen, The Riddler is a major character in The CW's Gotham. Played by Cory Michael Smith, fans tuned in every week to see him go from GCPD employee to super villain, as well as his complicated relationship with The Penguin. But with Gotham coming to a close this season, the timing also works out to possibly bring a new version of the character to audiences.

James McAvoy will play Professor X once more when Dark Phoenix arrives in theaters on June 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip tot he movies.

Watch Arnold Schwarzenegger Get Drop Kicked And Barely Flinch

Watch Arnold Schwarzenegger Get Drop Kicked And Barely Flinch

There’s a scene in 1984’s The Terminator where a group of punks attacks and stabs Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 in an ill-advised move that is completely ineffective against the machine. Arnold Schwarzenegger may not be a machine, but he also proved some imperviousness to attack over the weekend. At the Arnold Classic Africa sports festival, the actor barely flinched when drop kicked by a local idiot. Take a look:

First of all, Arnold Schwarzenegger let fans know on Twitter that he is totally fine and thankfully unhurt by the incident. He even said that he initially thought he was just jostled by the crowd. And you can understand how he might think that considering how often the famous actor finds himself in adoring crowds and how ineffectual the drop kick was.

Arnold asks if it was a block or a charge, and while that may be a fine distinction in basketball, this is clearly a charge-- albeit a weak one. As you can see in the video, this rando goes fully airborne and launches himself at Arnold, and the actor and fitness icon barely flinches upon impact-- only taking a couple of steps forward.

Arnie was busy taking a Snapchat and interacting with his fans when this happened, so he was completely unprepared for such a cowardly attack and thus unable to prepare or tense up and still he could not be felled. He may be 71-years-old but the muscle-bound actor who played Conan the Barbarian is not so easily moved.

The attacker is quickly subdued by a very large man and handed over to police officers according to BBC News. Since the incident, Arnold Schwarzenegger has let everyone know that he is not pressing charges and hopes that this serves as a wake-up call to the unnamed man to get his life on track. It’s quite merciful on Arnie’s part to not want to draw out the incident any longer or give his attacker any undue fame.

While this fool does not deserve any of the fame he so desperately and pathetically sought, Arnold Schwarzenegger understands the newsworthiness of the story. So he wants to highlight those people who do deserve fame and attention, specifically the athletes that participated in the Arnold Classic Africa sports festival in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As he says in his tweets, the event features 90 sports, from Arm Wrestling and Bodybuilding to Chess, E-Sports, Martial Arts and Deaf Sports, and hosts 24,000 athletes of all ages and abilities in the spirit of physical activity and competition. It is a shame that such nonsense happened there but hopefully it will bring greater awareness to the event and its message.

Later this year, Arnold Schwarzenegger will return to the role that made him famous as another immovable object for Terminator: Dark Fate. That film reunites him with Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor and hits theaters on November 1. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies.

Will Happy Death Day 3 Happen? Here's What Jason Blum Says

Will Happy Death Day 3 Happen? Here's What Jason Blum Says

The Happy Death Day movies have built a loyal fan base with their quirky, Groundhog Day-as-horror premise. The success of the first film resulted in a quick turn around on a sequel, and that sequel left things open for another entry. However, fans hoping for another Happy Death Day movie happening soon may need to readjust expectations. Blumhouse studio chief Jason Blum says that a Happy Death Day 3 probably won't happen. In response to a fan question on Twitter asking how likely a third entry was, Blum said...

Not very but not impossible

Obviously, this isn't the response that fans of the Happy Death Day movies want to hear, and it's somewhat surprising considering the way the second film was green lit so quickly.

While Jason Blum doesn't go into detail in his Twitter response, you don't have to go too far to figure out why the third film is so unlikely. Happy Death Day 2U completely crashed at the box office, especially when compared to the original. The first film made $55 million in North America and $125 million around the world. The sequel's domestic box office dropped by more than half and the global numbers look even worse.

Having said that, Happy Death Day 2U numbers aren't all bad news. The film only cost a reported $9 million to make so even the less than stellar numbers mean the movie almost certainly made money, Hollywood accounting notwithstanding. With Blumhouse's famously low budgets, the sequel probably made enough money to pay for the budget on a third film at the very least.

Of course, one has to take into account that this could be a trend, and if it is, it would be bad news for a third film. Happy Death Day 2U, cost nearly double what the first movie did and brought in a fraction of the ticket sales. A third film, would, almost be necessity, cost more than the second one, and if the box office on that one dropped compared to part two, then the possibility that it won't make money, even though the first two films did ok, is very real.

Still, fans shouldn't give up hope completely as Jason Blum says a third film is not impossible. If it becomes clear that there really is enough of a fan base interested in part three, and a way to keep the budget down can be found, Blumhouse could still green light the project. If the studio thinks the movie will make money, the movie will happen, this is a business after all.

One thing that does seem for certain, however, is that fans should not expect a Happy Death Day 3 to see the same quick turn around that part two did. The sequel coming out so quickly didn't help ticket sales, so the studio will likely take its time with another entry

The Happy Death Day movies have built a loyal fan base with their quirky, Groundhog Day as horror premise. The success of the first film resulted in a quick turn around on a sequel, and that sequel left things open for another entry. However, fans hoping for another Happy Death Day movie happening soon may need to readjust expectations. Blumhouse studio chief Jason Blum says that a Happy Death Day 3 probably won't happen. In response to a fan question on Twitter asking how likely a third entry was, Blum said...

Not very but not impossible

Obviously, this isn't the response that fans of the Happy Death Day movies want to hear, and it's somewhat surprising considering the way the second film was green lit so quickly.

While Jason Blum doesn't go into detail in his Twitter response, you don't have to go too far to figure out why the third film is so unlikely. Happy Death Day 2U completely crashed at the box office, especially when compared to the original. The first film made $55 million in North America and $125 million around the world. The sequel's domestic box office dropped by more than half and the global numbers look even worse.

Having said that, Happy Death Day 2U numbers aren't all bad news. The film only cost a reported $9 million to make so even the less than stellar numbers mean the movie almost certainly made money, Hollywood accounting notwithstanding. With Blumhouse's famously low budgets, the sequel probably made enough money to pay for the budget on a third film at the very least.

Of course, one has to take into account that this could be a trend, and if it is, it would be bad news for a third film. Happy Death Day 2U, cost nearly double what the first movie did and brought in a fraction of the ticket sales. A third film, would, almost be necessity, cost more than the second one, and if the box office on that one dropped compared to part two, then the possibility that it won't make money, even though the first two films did, is very real.

Still, fans shouldn't give up hope completely as Jason Blum says a third film is not impossible. If it becomes clear that there really is enough of a fan base interested in part three, and a way to keep the budget down can be found, Blumhouse could still green light the project. If the studio thinks the movie will make money, the movie will happen, this is a business after all.

One thing that does seem for certain, however, is that fans should not expect a Happy Death Day 3 to see the same quick turn around that part two did. The seq

The Percentage Of Avengers Fans Who Think Each Main Character Is Going To Die

The Percentage Of Avengers Fans Who Think Each Main Character Is Going To Die

The end is near, my fellow Marvel fanatics. And all that audiences really want to know as we prepare for Avengers: Endgame is… who will survive?

OK, fine. There are a lot more questions that need answered by Joe and Anthony Russo’s Avengers: Endgame. But the mortality rate of the key Avengers characters is top of mind as the culmination movie in the MCU makes its way to theaters. With that in mind, we launched a questionnaire for Endgame fans to make predictions about what's going to happen (you can take the survey here). In all, we talked to more than a thousand readers, and not surprisingly, a lot of fans are worried about a lot of different characters.

Who will live? Who will die? We won't know until the film premieres, but you can head down the page and check out what most fans are thinking.

Captain America (81% Vote Dead)

The fans are pretty convinced that Avengers: Endgame will be Steve Rogers’ last dance in the MCU. And if Endgame requires a mighty sacrifice, few will hit harder than Captain America (Chris Evans), who has been the spiritual and physical leader of the Avengers since the team was formed in Joss Whedon’s initial superhero team-up film.

Thanos (72% Vote Dead)

A lot of fans vote that Thanos (Josh Brolin) won’t just be defeated in Avengers: Endgame, he will be killed. But if Infinity War told us anything about the hulking, purple Mad Titan, it’s that he’s really hard to kill. If only Thor (Chris Hemsworth) had gone for the head…

Phil Coulson (57% Vote Dead)

This would kind of be a running joke, but if Agent Coulson were to somehow return in Avengers: Endgame and then be killed off, we’d have a meme of Dead Coulson on our hands. He “sacrificed” himself in The Avengers, only to return on the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show. Captain Marvel brought the character back, but that’s a prequel set in the 1990s. Still, 57 percent of y’all think Coulson will eat it in Endgame.

Tony Stark (55% Vote Dead)

Truthfully, we thought this number would be higher. If Captain America stands as a symbolic sacrifice, so too does Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), and we think the odds are high that he trades his life for another team member in Avengers: Endgame. You guys don’t agree, however, with just over half of you thinking the MCU’s latest chapter will end with Stark’s death.

Nebula (55% Vote Dead)

This one makes sense. Nebula (Karen Gillan) largely exists so she can achieve vengeance against her dad, Thanos. Avengers: Endgame puts her on the path to reach that goal, and why wouldn’t she die in pursuit of this personal quest? Her sister, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), died in the previous film. And Nebula isn’t essential to the announced Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This could be her swan song.

James Rhodes (33% Vote Dead)

Justice for Terrence Howard! I’m kidding. If Endgame plays out in a way where Tony Stark has to be compelled into action by the death of a friend, Rhodes (Don Cheadle) could be the victim. However, Marvel had a golden opportunity to take out this character back in Captain America: Civil War, and they opted for temporary paralysis over death, so why kill him off now?

Hank Pym (32% Vote Dead)

Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) is a founding member of the Avengers team in the comics, and he has been a crucial mentor to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). But the Ant-Man franchise has avoided emotional deaths, and losing Pym in battle could break a few hearts. Also, how much longer do we think Douglas wants to be making these movies?

Carol Danvers (1.94% Vote Dead)

We jumped from Hank Pym all the way down to Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), because the character received the fewest votes total in the poll. Maybe it’s all the talk from Marvel President Kevin Feige about how Captain Marvel will lead the studio into the next phase of films. But only 20 people picked her to die in Avengers: Endgame, so it’s likely she lives on.

The answers are coming. We are less than a week away from Avengers: Endgame opening in theaters on Thursday, April 25. Do you have your tickets for opening weekend yet?

That Time Scarlett Johansson Had To Pick Up Guys While Filming A Movie

That Time Scarlett Johansson Had To Pick Up Guys While Filming A Movie

2013’s Under the Skin was certainly one of the most bizarre roles to date for Scarlett Johansson. The actress played an alien masquerading as an alluring woman who scours the streets of Glasgow for men, entices them to have sex with her and then murders them in cold blood. As it turns out, during the making of Under the Skin Johansson had quite the unconventional experience with several of the men playing opposite of her. Here’s what she said:

A remarkable aspect of Under the Skin is that a lot of the people who appear in it aren’t actors. They’re normal people – who happen to be walking down a road minding their own business when a pretty lady pulls up in a van alongside them and offers them a lift to Tesco and then a film crew clutching disclaimers leaps out of the back.

Wait… what? Many of the men featured in Under the Skin were actually picked up by Scarlett Johansson herself, whilst she was in character in short black hair. In an interview with The Guardian, she was asked at what point did director Jonathan Glazer tell her they didn’t have other actors and the plan was to drift through the streets and find some during the making of the 2013 sci-fi drama? Her answer:

That happened later on. And none of us knew how it was going to work. We toyed with lots of different things like prosthetics, teeth, all kinds of things that would change my face but only slightly, when in fact there was no need to do any of that.

Under the Skin was an indie film with just a $13 million budget, which explains the lack of actors in the film. It was unclear if this method would actually work though. Would they recognize the actress? It seemed to work out in the film’s favor and lean into the realism of the experience.

Daily Mail spoke with one of the men who was approached by the famous actress. 29-year-old Kevin McAlinden stopped him while in her car, rolled down the window and asked “Are you single? What are you doing tonight?” He didn’t recognize her as Scarlett Johansson, but noticed the actress’ undeniable beauty had recently split with his partner. He thought he won the jackpot. In his words:

I thought, 'Yes! This is unbelievable!' I’d been having quite a tough time in my personal life, so this was like a lucky break. I should have known it was too good to be true.

When he got into the car, he of course was told he was being recruited for a movie role. Can you imagine? That’s Black Widow, man? Duh! She’s only the most successful actresses in the world. Either way this is a crazy story about the behind-the-scenes of Under the Skin and certainly calls for a second-viewing after learning this about it.

You can see Scarlett Johansson next in Avengers: Endgame starting April 26.

6 Criticisms People Have Of Avengers: Endgame

6 Criticisms People Have Of Avengers: Endgame

Minor spoilers for the new Marvel movie can be found in this article.

Avengers: Endgame is killing it at the box office, and it's looking more and more likely it will become the highest-grossing film of all time. There are plenty of viewers who think the film is the ultimate swan song to the first 10 years of the MCU, with plenty of exciting and heart-wrenching moments for audiences to chew on. Those voices have expressed themselves well enough over the internet so far, but what about those who were disappointed by certain aspects?

These voices are quieter, and possibly keeping their opinions to themselves as opposed to the internet, particularly given the recent spoilers climate. Now that the Russos have given the OK on spoiling Avengers: Endgame, we're happy to talk out more specifically what we've seen and heard from fans as them feel more emboldened to share the issues they had with the MCU movie. Here are some that are out there already. Avengers lovers, assemble your counterpoints.

Avengers: Endgame Is Too Long

Audiences surely knew of Avengers: Endgame's roughly three-hour runtime ahead of their viewings, as headlines about not having a chance to pee circulated the web in the days before release. With hype like that, and spoilers on the movie kept largely under lock and key, many may have been glued to their seats denying themselves of snacks, bathroom breaks, or the birth of their children in fear of missing some huge MCU moment, but ended up underwhelmed by how the lengthy movie ran on and on and on.

In the case of one USA Today writer, Avengers: Endgame's runtime may have been justified had some of the plot been committed to re-introducing some characters. Instead, there were deep cuts and cameos by characters even those who had seen a vast majority of MCU movies may have struggled to remember. Other folks may just not have the patience for a three-hour movie, which is likely why studios tend not to make a lot of them.

Avengers: Endgame Has A Lot Of Downtime

Superhero movies are, typically, big on action. Avengers: Endgame does have one of the largest action sequences in the MCU, but this Avengers entry does have significant chunks of downtime between its fight scenes (the lengthy runtime likely contributes to this as well). The common complaint from a chunk of moviegoers is that things slow down shortly after the opening moments, and go between rising and falling action quite a bit leading up to the final battle.

Part of this may be audiences coming in expecting an experience closer to Avengers: Infinity War, which felt action heavy in comparison. Of course, given where Infinity War ended, we had to pick up at an interesting point in time, which means the first hour of Avengers: Endgame has a lot of downtime. Fans have to catch up with characters in the five years after the time-jump, which would not have the same emotional impact if characters were kicking ass all through those scenes.

Avengers: Endgame Requires A Lot Of Marvel Knowledge To Fully Appreciate

While the Russos stated that all audiences can enjoy Avengers: Endgame without a vast knowledge of the MCU, that's up to the individual to decide. Someone could see Avengers: Endgame having only seen Infinity War or a handful of other Marvel movies, but there's a good deal of references that will go right over his or her head.

Even those well-versed in the MCU may have missed deep references as the movie even managed to work in scenes from iconic comic book storylines. A great example is Captain America's "Hail Hydra" scene, which is a reference to Captain America: Winter Soldier, but also a polarizing comic storyline in Secret Empire. It's never fun to feel out of the loop in the theater, which may have been why some folks didn't enjoy the flick as much as others.

Avengers: Endgame's Time Travel Is Confusing

This is, perhaps, the biggest criticisms fans have felt comfortable talking about since Avengers: Endgame's release. Time travel can always create issues in storytelling, especially when the movie outright explains it's not going to follow the rules of traditional time travel established by films of the past. There's even a discrepancy between the Russos and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely on explaining how it works, which should be a sign.

Answers are, presumably, going to come via Disney+'s Marvel shows or in other Phase 4 films, but there's a sense Avengers: Endgame passed the buck onto someone else to explain away some of the decisions the movie made. Granted, a lot of it wouldn't be too difficult to grasp if it wasn't for Captain America's end scene, which kind of puts a lot of theories fans have to that point on their heads. Bottom line, some fans need a real and official explanation to feel satisfied.

Avengers: Endgame Use Of The Hulk Is Underwhelming

Avengers: Endgame viewers were treated to a wildly different version of the Hulk, who now lived as a superhero with the body of the green gamma radiated giant and the brain of counterpart Bruce Banner. He was, with maybe the exception of Hawkeye, the most transformed of all of the Avengers 5 years after Infinity War. However, with Hawkeye, we witnessed what he lost following the snap, saw the person he became afterward, and then saw how he reclaimed who he was in the process.

With Hulk, we saw the once intimidating and most destructive force in the Avengers dab in front of children. Sure, he did more, but Banner's reconciling with Hulk is a big deal, and some fans feel like it's a shame we didn't see more of him figuring that out. We also really didn't see the two sides as equals, as Banner used very little of that patented "smash" ability. His part was enjoyable, but there wasn't a lot to love for classic Hulk fans.

Avengers: Endgame's Deaths Shouldn't Even Matter

Avengers: Endgame features two huge deaths when --and big spoilers here -- we lose Black Widow and Iron Man. Theoretically, the movie lays out how the MCU can bring neither back thanks to the rules of the Soul Stone etc. However, Gamora being snatched up from the past and brought to the present brings an earlier version of her character back into the Guardians franchise, so why wouldn't they do that immediately? I don't think it can be because it would change the past, because Nebula killing her past self seems to have done nothing.

Using Pym Particles and the Quantum Realm, it would theoretically be easy to bring back both Tony and Natasha from a time prior to their death so that the entire squad can be together again. It may not happen to keep the emotion of Avengers: Endgame, but from a plot perspective, this timey-wimey stuff in Endgame's realm still seems shaky from a lot of fan perspectives. Of course, we know Tony won't be coming back because of his Marvel contract, but still.

Of course, these are just a few of the popular criticisms moviegoers have had for Avengers: Endgame, so readers with other qualms can throw them down in the comments below. Otherwise, stick with CinemaBlend in the meantime for all the latest and greatest news in movies, television, and pop culture.

Will Smith Found The Aladdin Genie Backlash ‘Very Funny’

Will Smith Found The Aladdin Genie Backlash ‘Very Funny’

Although we got our first look at Will Smith’s Genie in the upcoming Aladdin remake last December, the character was rocking a normal human guise. It wasn’t until the special sneak that aired in February that the character was shown in all his blue glory. Well, maybe ‘glory’ isn’t the right word, as this look at the live action blue Genie was met with a lot of derision online, which included various memes and Photoshop manipulations, due to the quality of the CGI,

However, rather than be bothered or hurt by this backlash against Aladdin’s Genie, Will Smith actually found these reactions amusing. In his words:

It was very funny. There was a Sonic The Hedgehog / Genie frog. Everything is under such critical scrutiny. I came up in an era where there was no internet. It’s a new thing that I’m trying to get a handle on.

Will Smith does have a point. The internet as we know it wasn’t around when he was growing up, and even during the period when he was starring in hits like Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men in Black, the World Wide Web didn’t hold anywhere near the cultural influence it does now. Sure you might have come across some movie criticism, but that’s a far cry from someone using an Arrested Development screenshot to poke fun at the live action iteration of a Disney character only minutes after a new preview dropped.

Thing seem to have calmed down on the Genie front since then, particularly after a new Aladdin trailer dropped last month which included improved shots of Will Smith’s character. Director Guy Ritchie, who also spoke with Empire, noticed the turnaround on the reception towards Genie, saying:

It even came with apologies from the cynics who were so adamant initially. I’ve never seen apologies in that world. I thought, ‘Oh well, great, we’re back to where I’d hoped we’d be.'

Altogether, we’ve only glimpsed seconds of Genie from the Aladdin marketing, so we’ll have to wait until the movie actually comes out to see whether the VFX crew stuck the proverbial landing with his blue appearance or if there are still some noticeable issues. Either way, at least Will Smith was able to get a little joy out of the mockery his version of Genie went through rather than take it personally.

Rather than radically overhauling the story of its 1992 animated predecessor, Aladdin seems to be following in the footsteps of Beauty and the Beast and going the straightforward remake route, though obviously still with some differences. Along with Will Smith, the main cast includes Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as The Sultan, Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, Numan Acar as Hakim and Robby Haynes as Razoul, as well as Alan Tudyk voicing Iago and Frank Welker reprising Abu the monkey and the Cave of Wonders.

Aladdin will work its magic in theaters on May 24. If you’re curious about what other movies are coming out later this year, head to our 2019 release schedule for that information.