Jason Momoa Says Aquaman 2 Story Is 'Locked'

Jason Momoa Says Aquaman 2 Story Is 'Locked'

Last year’s Aquaman finally got Warner Bros.’ DC film franchise back on the right track with a solid critical response and a massive box office performance. While the DCEU’s most successful movie to date won’t be getting a sequel until late 2022, work has already begun on Aquaman 2. In fact, they already know where the sequel will go because the story is locked down, as Jason Momoa explained:

I was really, really, really, passionate, to do the second one because it’s the first time where it’s all on Earth. It’s combining land and sea, kind of like what I’m doing with this [environmental cause]. There’s no outside aliens destroying Earth, it’s us. And so I was excited to get back in there, and so I’ve been working with our previous writer, and getting in there, and we’ve got a locked story, and we’re getting into it. And I think it’s going to be like in two years or whatever. The beard will be back by then.

Jason Momoa sounds quite enthusiastic about returning to the Aquaman role, and although he didn’t give any hints about what it would entail, he did reveal that the story for Aquaman 2 is already ‘locked.’ So although it is still years away, a plan is already in place for what will happen in the sequel to the $1 billion-grossing film.

It also sounds like the sequel could again be primarily focused on Arthur Curry’s story and maybe the relationship between surface dwellers and those above versus extraterrestrial threats. Aquaman was successful with this approach, and with DC’s relaxed stress on cinematic universe connectivity, it makes sense.

We’ve previously heard that Aquaman screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick was returning to pen Aquaman 2, and based on his comments on The Ellen Show, Jason Momoa worked with him to nail down the story. Now all that’s left is to translate that story into a script and turn that into a movie. There’s plenty of time to do that and producer Peter Safran indicated that the approach is to take that time to get things right.

Although Aquaman 2 is a long way off and the story could certainly change, it is encouraging that Jason Momoa can already say that it is locked down. That means that he and those involved have a certain level of confidence with where they want to take the story and the characters. Ideally, that also means that the locked story is a good one.

With Jason Momoa apparently having some input on the story of Aquaman 2, I’ll be curious to see how much of an environmental message it has. While on Ellen, Jason Momoa was promoting his Mananalu water, aluminum-canned water that is recyclable and an alternative to single-use plastic bottles that often wind up in the ocean. He’s really living Aquaman’s mission to protect the oceans and perhaps that message will find its way into the sequel film as well.

Regardless, there are plenty of directions the story of Aquaman 2 could go. Aquaman’s end-credits scene seemed to set up Black Manta and Dr. Stephen Shin as antagonists in the sequel, and there are of course other comics elements it could draw from as well. Whatever the story is, Jason Momoa will also have his beard back by the time we see it, which is probably for the best.

I imagine we've got a while to go before we find out what Aquaman 2 will be about, but hopefully before long we'll hear whether or not director James Wan is returning, as that is still not entirely clear.

Aquaman 2 dives into theaters on December 16, 2022. However, a new Star Wars movie was just announced for that same date, so we’ll see if Aquaman 2 stays in that spot. For movies arriving just a bit sooner, check out our 2019 Release Schedule.

Will Detective Pikachu Be Able To Best Avengers: Endgame At The Box Office?

Will Detective Pikachu Be Able To Best Avengers: Endgame At The Box Office?

The last couple of weeks at the box office have been all about Avengers: Endgame, as other studios gave the Disney juggernaut, which has now passed Titanic to become the second-biggest movie of all time, a wide berth both before and after its release. But now other contenders are coming for Thanos’ throne atop the box office, starting this weekend with a tiny, electric-type Pokémon that happens to sound a lot like Deadpool. So will Detective Pikachu be able to best Avengers: Endgame at the box office?

The short answer is probably not, but Detective Pikachu isn’t going to crash and burn like so many of its video game movie forbears either. According to Deadline, the Pokémon franchise’s first foray into live-action on the big screen is looking at a domestic opening weekend in the $50 million to $55 million range from over 4,200 theaters.

That should be good enough for second to Avengers: Endgame as the MCU’s history-making film continues its quest to topple Avatar. Endgame is tracking at making $75-$85 million in its third weekend in release, which will be enough to hold on to the top spot at the box office and withstand Pikachu’s thunder if the tracking proves accurate.

There’s no shame in taking second place to Avengers: Endgame. Pokémon is a global property and domestic audiences won’t be the only ones trying to catch ‘em all at the theater this weekend. Detective Pikachu is projected to make $90-$120 million overseas this weekend for a worldwide opening weekend of upwards of $160 million.

Of that overseas haul, $40-$60 million is expected to come from China, where Legendary Pictures’ parent company Wanda Group is based. That gives it a leg up and the film is receiving positive buzz, but it may not get an abundance of favorable showtimes from theaters due to it being treated like an animated movie.

The continued presence of Avengers: Endgame, which has naturally slowed but is still huge, makes it difficult to know just how well Detective Pikachu will do, but it does have some things going for it that could help it over-perform. In addition to the star power of Ryan Reynolds, Detective Pikachu is enjoying decent, but not glowing, reviews and currently sits at 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.

That’s better than most video game movies and Detective Pikachu also has the benefit of a large and resurgent fanbase thanks to the popularity of the Pokémon Go mobile game. These factors have some thinking that this movie could be a surprise at the box office.

Back in March, the long-range tracking on this $150 million film had it landing in the $75-$90 million range. So a $50-$55 million domestic opening weekend would be considerably less than that, but personally I feel like Detective Pikachu is being underestimated and could land closer to those earlier predictions, making it another example of the difficulty of box office prognosticating.

It may not make enough to topple Endgame; that may be a job for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum or Aladdin. But either way Detective Pikachu is looking at a solid start to a likely franchise.

Detective Pikachu opens in theaters this weekend. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the big movies headed your way this summer.

How Candyman's Jordan Peele And Director Nia DaCosta Bonded Through Horror Fandom

How Candyman's Jordan Peele And Director Nia DaCosta Bonded Through Horror Fandom

This past weekend saw the phenomenal release of Jordan Peele’s Us, and the good news for those already hungry for more horror stories from the filmmaker is that he has many irons in the fire. For example, there is the new version of The Twilight Zone that he is producing and hosting for CBS All Access – but on the feature side of things there is the tremendously exciting new take on Candyman that he is making with writer/director Nia DaCosta.

News of DaCosta’s hiring came just a couple months after the announcement about the project’s development late last year, and also just a few months after the world premiere of her feature debut, Little Woods (which played at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival). In the time since, not much has been revealed about the direction of the new Candyman, but while sitting down with DaCosta this past weekend, I learned about a key ingredient in her collaboration with Jordan Peele:

I think something that we connect on a lot was the way we view horror, and our love of horror. I love Candyman, but also just like breaking down what horror is, how it's represented, what it means, and why it's important. I think we really connected on that, and so that's a lot of what our conversations have been about… that I can tell you (laughs). It's been great. He's a wonderful creator, collaborator, human, artist.

With the film set to be released in a few weeks, Little Woods held its Los Angeles press day on Sunday, and it was at the end of my interview with Nia DaCosta and star/executive producer Tessa Thompson that I inquired about the development of her upcoming horror remake. Specifically I asked about the conversations that she had been having with Jordan Peele, and she explained how a shared vision of what horror can do and why it’s effective is really driving their work together on Candyman.

Naturally I felt compelled to follow-up by asking about her philosophy in the genre, and what she stressed was both engaging with the audience, and also telling stories that bring home important messages in subversive ways. It’s a key staple of horror that has existed from the beginning, and a tradition that Nia DaCosta plans to uphold in her venture. Said the filmmaker,

What I like about genres like thrillers, and why I think tensions are important for all movies, including dramas, it's physicalizing what the characters are feeling for the audience. That's really important, and gets the audience to engage and to lean in. And then with horror you can sneak in messages. You know sneak in what you think about the world around you, and how actually horrifying the world is. You get to hide it in these layers. 'This is about a ghost, but really it's about paranoia and a woman's place in the world.' Or, you know, 'This is about a guy meeting his girlfriend's parents, but really it's about... Actually a guy meeting his girlfriend's parents.' (laughs)

Based on a short story by Clive Barker that was first adapted in 1992, Candyman centers on an urban legend that is being investigated by a college student – specifically one about a violent entity who appears and attacks anyone who dares to say his name five times into a mirror. Yahya Abdul-Matten II, who has earned notoriety in recent months thanks to his performance in James Wan’s Aquaman and Jordan Peele’s Us, is currently the only member of the cast, set to play the titular villain.

With Nia DaCosta directing and Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld writing the script, Candyman is currently on track to be released on June 12, 2020 – produced by Monkeypaw Productions and MGM. For those of you who want to get a taste of what DaCosta is bringing to the table as a filmmaker, however, (and I highly recommend that you do), Little Woods is set up with distribution from Neon, and will be getting a limited release starting on April 19th.

For more about the film, and more from my interview with Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson, be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend!

The Mustang's Jason Mitchell Overcame A Very Real Phobia By Making The Film

The Mustang's Jason Mitchell Overcame A Very Real Phobia By Making The Film

There are surely many attractive things about being a professional actor, but high on the list must be the ability to have a wide variety of experiences, and acquire assorted skills. A good example of this is the role that Jason Mitchell plays in the new drama The Mustang, where he portrays an expert horse trainer – a part that required learning new abilities so that his turn would seem authentic. In this he is very successful, as you entirely believe in his character’s proficiency, but what adds a whole extra layer to the situation is the fact that Mitchell went into the production with a deep-rotted case of Equinophobia: a fear of horses.

You’d think that being afraid of a film’s titular animal would drive an actor away from a potential project, but with Jason Mitchell and The Mustang it was a case of the opposite being true. When I sat down with the actor earlier this week during the new movie’s Los Angeles press day, he explained that he actually saw his very real hesitance as a motivator to be a part of the production – hoping to both grow as a performer and a person. Said Mitchell,

When I looked at this script, of course, there's the obvious: the horses, right? I was super terrified of horses. I had a bad experience as a kid, and I was like, 'You know, maybe this will not only move the needle for me as an actor, but move the needle for me as a man.’ Like in my own life. I can get some skills that I can take home and they can't take back!

Going further, he explained that stepping away from himself to such a great degree is an important aspect of his career choices – feeling that the extra challenge pushes him to work harder. Of course, as Jason Mitchell noted, it very much helps to be surrounded by supportive co-stars and a good animal partner:

This is somebody who I'm really not, you know what I mean? A great horse trainer? Completely terrified of horses. The scale is crazy. So it was good. I had a bunch of great co-stars and I had a great horse who was a great co-star - shout out to Soldier. He was good.

Directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, The Mustang tells the story of Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts), a violent, anger-filled convict who enters a rehabilitation therapy program training wild mustangs. Though there is some skepticism from Myles (Bruce Dern), who runs the program, Henry (Jason Mitchell), a fellow prisoner and veteran of the program, tries to take Roman under his wing and calm his rage.

It’s a charismatic and authentic turn from Jason Mitchell, and the work he put into the production very much shines on the screen. Knowing that he was starting from behind on the movie given his fears, he told me that he did his best to work harder than anyone else on the film, and really committed even when the cameras weren’t rolling.

I had to go that extra mile because I was actually working when I found out about this project. I didn't have very much time to learn about horses or to really break that fear. So I just had to kind of grab it by the balls and just go. But I went the extra mile every day. I was that guy who was actually cleaning the horse stables, and actually holding conversation with my horse, and just really learning how to ride, and try to go that extra mile. Because I was like, 'I want this to feel real!' I don't want them to have to pull up my stunt double every time. And I think I got pretty far. Both Matthias [Schoenaerts] and I were like, you know, the first day he was like, 'Okay, this is not for me.' But then as you get into it you really gain a bond.

You can watch my full interview with Jason Mitchell by clicking play on the video below – which also includes further discussion about more skills he’d love to acquire in the future, and new mountains he’d like to climb with his project choices:

Also starring Gideon Adlon, Josh Stewart, and Connie Britton, The Mustang premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, and will be getting a limited release in theaters this Friday, March 15th.

The Important Hulk Story That Almost Showed Up In Avengers: Infinity War

The Important Hulk Story That Almost Showed Up In Avengers: Infinity War

Warning: SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame are ahead!

After getting a beating from Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, not only did Hulk not emerge for the rest of that movie, that ended up being the last time we saw the Green Goliath in this brutish form. During Avengers: Endgame, sometime in the five years after The Decimation occurred, Bruce Banner merged his intellect with Hulk’s brawn, resulting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the Professor Hulk personality.

However, it turns out we could have seen a more intelligent Hulk earlier in the MCU, as Stephen McFeely, who co-wrote both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame with Christopher Markus, revealed:

We originally had Smart Hulk in Infinity War.

You’ll recall that in Avengers: Infinity War, Bruce Banner tried several times to get the Hulk to come out, but his monstrous other half refused, requiring Bruce to don the Hulkbuster armor when Thanos’ forces invaded Wakanda. While some speculated that Hulk was scared to jump back into battle after being pummeled by Thanos, directors Joe and Anthony Russo explained that Hulk had actually “had enough of saving Banner's ass.”

Either way, as Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus explained to Fandango, originally the plan in Avengers: Infinity War was for Bruce Banner to fix his “communication problems” with Hulk and transform into Smart Hulk just in time for the final conflict in Wakanda. However, it was decided late in the creative process that this shift didn’t feel tonally right, so it was scrapped and saved for Avengers: Endgame.

Which brings us to the above moment that was shown in the first Avengers: Infinity War trailer, where Hulk is charging into battle alongside his allies. Obviously that moment never occurred in the movie, but rather than simply being filmed to fool audiences, this was originally intended to be an actual scene, only rather than getting more of normal, angry Hulk, that’s a Hulk with significantly improved intelligence who’s getting ready to kick some ass.

This makes for a cool ‘what could have been’ scenario (another if Hulk had been dusted), but within the actual MCU timeline, it took a little longer for Bruce Banner to finally achieve a balance with The Hulk. When he finally stopped looking at Hulk as a problem and instead as a solution, Bruce brought the best of both worlds together through gamma radiation, allowing him to finally achieve a sense of peace and the world to see Hulk as a proper superhero.

The emergence of Professor Hulk marked the conclusion of the special Hulk “trilogy” that began in Thor: Ragnarok. There’s no word yet on if we’ll be seeing more of Hulk going into the MCU’s Phase 4 and beyond, but Mark Ruffalo has at least one movie left on his contract, so perhaps Marvel Studios will give fans another taste of this more reasonable and dignified version of the Green Goliath in action.

Make sure you read CinemaBlend’s review of Avengers: Endgame and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the biggest updates concerning the MCU. If you’re curious about what movies the superhero franchise has coming, check out our comprehensive guide.

The Reason Iago Speaks Very Differently In The New Aladdin, According To Guy Ritchie

The Reason Iago Speaks Very Differently In The New Aladdin, According To Guy Ritchie

There are a lot of classic elements of the animated Aladdin still present in the new remake – from the colorful antics of the genie, to all the songs that have been stuck in your head for the last 27 years – but one aspect that is changed quite a bit is the presence of Iago. The parrot is still the right hand of the power-hungry Jafar, and regularly feeds him information that drives the plot forward, but as a character he is very different than what fans are familiar with. Rather than being an abrasive animal sidekick brought to life with the voice of Gilbert Gottfried, he’s instead, well… a parrot.

It’s an interesting choice that the film makes, particularly because there are still many other magical elements in play, but there is a good reason why it was done. According to director Guy Ritchie, a more anthropomorphic version of Iago in the new Aladdin simply didn’t fit as the story was brought from animation to live-action, and just didn’t feel right within the presentation.

I brought up the character when I recently sat down with Guy Ritchie at the Los Angeles press day for Aladdin, asking how those kinds of decisions were made, and he explained,

Good question, actually, and one I don't mind talking about, this one, at all. It's funny what you can get away with in an animated production that can't, my feeling is, that you can't get away with in quite the same way in live action. So although you still got magic carpets and blue genies coming out of bottles, [it] still has to be rooted in some form of reality. It's hard if you have a parrot who has paragraphs of dialogue. Somehow it just sits uncomfortably in a live action production.

Going for a more appropriate adaptation of the character, Aladdin has the new Iago act much more like a scarlet macaw that you would find in real life, albeit with a slightly enhanced ability to speak (he has the occasional line, but nothing on the level of what we hear in the 1992 movie). Physically he’s entirely a digital creation, and the voice is done by Alan Tudyk – who has become a Disney regular in recent years, with parts in Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Ralph Breaks The Internet.

Unlike the human characters, which were easy to adapt from medium to medium, Aladdin’s animals presented a particular puzzle for the filmmakers, but it was a code they eventually cracked. It was all about finding what Guy Ritchie referred to as the “sweet spot” where things didn’t seem out of place or two extreme. Said the director,

There was a sweet spot that we found between animals in their animation or articulation before you went too far and then you went, 'Oh, hold on. This is live action.' But as I say, you're talking about wishes and genies, yet somehow there's a position that the mind occupies that accepts certain amount of fancy without becoming absurd.

You can watch Guy Ritchie discuss his approach to bringing Iago to life in the new Aladdin by clicking play on the video below!

In addition to Alan Tudyk, Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin sports an impressive ensemble cast that includes Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, and Numan Acar. The movie will be hitting theaters this weekend, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interviews with the cast and filmmakers!

Avengers: Endgame Has Officially Beat One Of Avatar's Box Office Records

Avengers: Endgame Has Officially Beat One Of Avatar's Box Office Records

Like Captain Marvel blazing through the sky and cutting through enemy ships, Avengers: Endgame came out fast and furious at the box office, felling many records. But Endgame’s run isn’t done yet and there are still records left to conquer, particularly those belonging to the almighty box office champ, Avatar. Now, after this past weekend, Avengers: Endgame has officially beat one of Avatar’s box office records.

Prior to this past weekend, it looked like the MCU’s massive culmination film would pass Avatar to become the second-biggest film at the domestic box office all-time. All the money has now been counted and we can finally say that officially, The Russo Brothers’ latest film has done just that. According to Box Office Mojo, Avengers: Endgame now stands at $774.5 million on the domestic charts, surpassing Avatar’s $760.5 million.

It’s a remarkable feat considering that Avatar’s domestic record held all the way until 2015 when it was beat out by the return of Star Wars in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No film since then has passed Avatar domestically, including box office titans like Black Panther, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Avengers: Infinity War. But records are made to be broken and Avengers: Endgame has done that in less than a month.

The $774.5 million and counting Avengers: Endgame has made cements it as the second-biggest domestic film ever, now trailing only The Force Awakens. It may have to settle for No. 2 though because the record held by Episode VII will require extraordinary legs to catch. Star Wars: The Force Awakens holds the top spot on the domestic charts with a historic $936.6 million, over $160 million more than where Endgame is currently at.

On the worldwide record front, things are more competitive and interesting. Avengers: Endgame may have passed Avatar’s domestic total and James Cameron’s other box office champ Titanic worldwide, but Avatar’s all-time, worldwide box office record remains intact.

Avatar is the No. 1, biggest movie ever at the box office, with $2.788 million worldwide. Right now, Avengers: Endgame sits at $2.620 million worldwide. Like the domestic record, Endgame will have to make over $160 million more around the world to catch Avatar and stand alone atop the worldwide box office chart.

Whether it can do that remains to be seen, but we may be in for a photo finish with box office aficionados watching Endgame’s every dollar come in like political pundits on election night. As of now, Avengers: Endgame has won a battle against Avatar, but the war is undecided and James Cameron still sits upon the throne.

Avengers: Endgame is now playing while Avatar 2 has been delayed (again) until 2021. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see all the movies you can look forward to the rest of this year.