Could Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Bring Back Another Classic Character?

Could Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Bring Back Another Classic Character?

The past few years have been very exciting for Star Wars fans. Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, we've seen a variety of new and exciting projects come to life. In addition to standalone films and the upcoming Mandalorian TV series, the main franchise has also continued through the sequel trilogy. J.J. Abrams kickstarted the property back up with The Force Awakens, which introduced a new set of protagonists to interact with legends like Leia, Luke, and Han Solo.

The generations of Star Wars fans were devastated by Han's fate in The Force Awakens. After mentoring Rey, Han faced his son Ben/Kylo Ren on Starkiller base. While trying to help Ben return to the Light Side, he's shockingly murdered via lightsaber, and tossed over the bridge. But after being absent in The Last Jedi, a new rumor indicates he might pop back up in The Rise of Skywalker this December.

A new report indicated that Han Solo may appear in The Rise of Skywalker, once again attempting to appeal to his son's morality. He's not going to be resurrected, but will apparently come as as vision to Kylo Ren when he's pondering his next move and looking to Darth Vader's old helmet. That's when Han will appear to Ben, and may even forgive him for his death in Episode VII.

These rumors come to us from Making Star Wars, and are unconfirmed by the Lucasfilm or Disney. Still, it's a report that will excite the generations of Star Wars fans out there. Han Solo is arguably the most popular hero in the entire franchise, and he was noticeably missing during the course of The Last Jedi. He had a meaty role in The Force Awakens, and his death was heartbreaking-- proving the new movies weren't holding their punches.

Han's possible role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker might be able to fix a problem in the current trilogy: the trio of original heroes never got a scene together. Leia and Han got a moment in The Force Awakens, but Luke was kept offscreen until the movie's very final moments. And once Carrie Fisher passed away, it seems we'd never see the three leads in another scene together.

Related: 12 Exciting Shots From The Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Trailer

Of course, this rumor might not pan out, and Han Solo could very well stay dead and away from the silver screen during Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Actor Harrison Ford doesn't have much of an interest in the franchise anymore, and seems happy with how he was killed off. He wanted Han to die back in Return of the Jedi, so the 76 year-old actor may have hung up his blaster for good.

In the end, there's no telling what J.J. Abrams included in The Rise of Skywalker. Palpatine's laugh at the end of the first trailer seemed to indicate an emphasis on the past, and Episode IX will end both the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker Saga forever.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will arrive in theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Chris Evans' Marvel Characters Combine In Epic Image

Chris Evans' Marvel Characters Combine In Epic Image

Given how totally and completely Chris Evans has become Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the near decade he has played him, it would be easy to forget that Steve Rogers is not the actor’s first superhero role. That was as Johnny Storm in Fox’s Fantastic Four films. With those films, 21st Century Fox and the Fantastic Four now all under the Disney banner, some new fan art has combined Chris Evans’ two superhero roles into one epic image.

As if Captain America didn’t look badass enough already, setting him ablaze certainly does the trick. Johnny Rogers or Steve Storm (yeah, definitely that one, alliteration is a hallmark of superhero naming convention) has all the steely resolve of Cap and all the fiery intensity of the Human Torch.

Cap is already pretty darn formidable in his own right, but you give him the fire manipulation and flight powers of the Human Torch and the Avengers’ odds of victory increase several fold. This image from BossLogic is especially cool because it isn’t just imagining what an actor would look like as a character, it’s combining two Chris Evans has already played.

Chris Evans has played both Captain America and the Human Torch and with the multiverses of comic book movies colliding in the Disney-Fox deal, this amalgamation seems appropriate to commemorate the occasion. Now we just need Josh Brolin as Nathan ‘Thanos’ Summers and Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger shrouded in fire yelling ‘Flame on!’

This image is also fun because it reminds you of the very different types of superheroes Chris Evans has played. As Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four, he was the wild and cocky jokester who didn’t take anything seriously. And as Captain America, he is the beating heart of the MCU, a serious and selfless hero. It just goes to show Chris Evans’ talents.

How much longer Chris Evans will be using those talents in the MCU is an open question. Pretty much since Captain America: Civil War we’ve been speculating that Captain America will bite the dust in tragically heroic fashion, and that question will be at its loudest right before Avengers: Endgame, especially given that the trailer showed a worse for wear Steve Rogers gritting his teeth in what looks to be a brutal battle.

Of course, if Avengers: Endgame is Chris Evans’ last appearance as Captain America, that would open him up to reprise the role of Johnny Storm when the Fantastic Four come to the MCU. Hey, it could happen! As far as what the future holds for The Human Torch and the rest of the Fantastic Four in the MCU, it is too soon to say.

The Disney purchase of 21st Century Fox just went through last week and it’s presumed that the X-Men couldn’t make their way to the MCU until 2021 at the earliest, so it would stand to reason that the same would apply to the Fantastic Four.

Before all that though, The Infinity Saga comes to an end when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies.

Joe Carnahan Says He Left Bad Boys For Life Over Differences With Will Smith

Joe Carnahan Says He Left Bad Boys For Life Over Differences With Will Smith

Development hell is a concept that isn't new to the film world. While certain projects seem to be promising and have the recipe for success, sometimes plans fail, and movies don't actually come to fruition. Highly anticipated action threequel Bad Boys For Life originally seemed like one of those movies, as it was been stuck in development hell for a number of years before finally going into production months ago.

Starting back in 2008, quite a few incarnations of Bad Boys' threequel were worked on before the current version was eventually nailed down. The Grey's Joe Carnahan was set to write and possibly direct Bad Boys III back in 2015, although he ultimately dropped out after the project stewed for a few years. Now he's explained the reasoning behind his departure, saying:

I just know myself, man. And I thought what we were doing at that point was the law of diminishing returns. I wasn’t servicing the story that I was really excited about telling, that the studio had green-lit. And again, this isn’t to throw shade at Will — it’s your face on the poster, it’s your name on the poster, you need to do things the way you want them done.

Well, this certainly sheds a light on things. Joe Carnahan doesn't seem to have sore feelings about the situation, but it appears that he had some creative differences with franchise star Will Smith. And since Smith is starring and producing Bad Boys For Life, he's got the right to have the final say. But that's just not how Carnahan wanted to make that movie.

Joe Carnahan's comments to Collider are in juxtaposition to the explanation that was given to his exit back in 2017. At that point, some reports indicated a scheduling conflict as the reason for Carnahan's departure. But it ultimately looks like it was creative differences, and a conflict with none other than Will Smith himself.

In his recent interview, Joe Carnahan was sure to not actually bad mouth With Smith over how Bad Boys For Life eventually came out. On the contrary, he understands what Smith has at stake for the project, and his own creative vision. But since they clashed, the director decided to exit the project, because he didn't want to work that way on the action sequel.

During that same conversation, Joe Carnahan was sure to pay his respects to Will Smith. Furthermore, he expressed how he was nervous to leave such a high-profile gig, explaining:

Here’s the thing. I love Will, he’s a great guy. It’s just, you get to a point where ... listen, I always say this. Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, you find me a motherfucker in the modern era that’s walked away from movies with those guys and is still working in some capacity.

It looks like Joe Carnahan harbors no ill-will toward Will Smith due to his Bad Boys For Life departure. And while he was taking a risk by turning down such an opportunity, the writer/director had to follow his gut. That eventually made way for directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to get behind the camera for the new blockbuster.

Bad Boys For Life recently wrapped production, and is currently set to arrive in theaters on January 17, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

How Pixar Figured Out How To Tell More Stories After Toy Story 3’s Ending

How Pixar Figured Out How To Tell More Stories After Toy Story 3’s Ending

For a lot of people, Toy Story is an absolutely perfect trilogy. It tells a complete story over the course of three movies and comes to a perfect, and perfectly satisfying, end. However, many of those fans who felt the story had reached a perfect end are now largely concerned, because Toy Story 4 is on the way and it's ready to continue the story we thought was finished.

Last month I got to sit down with Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley and Producers Jonas Rivera and Mark Nielsen, and the three of them spoke to me about how, while they agreed that the ending of Toy Story 3 was something special, it wasn't quite the ending that many people thought it was. Eventually, Toy Story 4 found its story by realizing that the first three movies weren't about Andy, but actually all about Woody, which meant there was clearly story left to be told. As Jonas Rivera told me...

In a weird way, Toy Story 3’s ending helped us, because it felt like a little bit of a misdirection. It was this idea that, if Toy Story 3 is an end. I mean really, the saga of Toy Story is about Woody, right? We kinda kicked that around for a while. He’s the protagonist. Andy’s a driver of the story but Woody is the main character.

It's the simplest idea in the world to be sure, but one that could be easily overlooked, the Toy Story movies are about Woody. Andy is only actually important to the story of the first three because he is important to Woody, we only really see him through Woody's eyes.

Certainly, much like Andy, Woody's story has come full circle, but just because he's back to being the toy of a young child, doesn't mean that Woody's life hasn't drastically changed. Woody now finds himself the property of Bonnie, in a new home with a bunch of new toys in addition to the ones that he's known. In the end, it was the simple idea that "what if this time things were different this time" that led to the story that became Toy Story 4. Again, from Jonas Rivera...

What that was, was just that idea of like, what if you took Woody, and [had] gone through everything that he’s done, tracked it, and he’s always landed on his feet. He literally gets a second chance. What if we could dramatize something about that second chance and show that it wasn’t the same, he’s didn’t land in the same spot. It is different. It is upending his life in ways he hasn’t experienced before.

Pixar creates some pretty interesting worlds, to be sure, and if you look too closely at them, they tend to fall apart, but the simple fact is that in the world of Toy Story, these characters aren't simply toys. They are conscious living being, and that means that just because ownership of them might change, things don't simply reset. The lives of these characters move forward and that's what is happening to Woody in Toy Story 4.

I got a chance to see a significant part of Toy Story 4 while visiting Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, CA last month. As part of that, I can certainly say that Toy Story 4, while still feeling like another Toy Story movie, also very clearly feels like a necessary and important chapter in that larger story. This is a piece of Woody's life that has value and it feels like it will all be a story worth telling.

Early in the new movie we see that Woody isn't the favorite toy that he once was. He's also not the defacto leader of the group. His status in the bedroom isn't what it once was, and while Woody rolls with the punches pretty well, he's clearly found himself in unfamiliar territory.

Director Josh Cooley compared Woody's situation to a parent dealing with "empty nest syndrome" after the kids have moved out of the house. Woody's relationship with Andy, while being his toy, was also that of a caretaker, Woody watched out for Andy and tried to keep him safe. Now that's successfully done that, what's next?

The idea that there still was a "next chapter" for Woody was vital to the trio of Josh Cooley, Jonas Rivera and Mark Nielsen as they were among those who loved the ending of Toy Story 3, and as such, even they only wanted to make Toy Story 4 if there was a compelling reason to do so.

We were among the people saying 'Toy Story 3 was a great ending, so you better not just make another adventure.’ We can’t have this feel like ‘oh, we forgot a part, audience.’

Certainly, the audience doesn't want to feel that way either. Fans almost certainly want to love the new Toy Story, even if they're not so sure about it. We'll all find out whether this story was really necessary when the movie arrives June 21.

The Avengers: Endgame Plot Twist That Is Both Fitting And Frustrating

The Avengers: Endgame Plot Twist That Is Both Fitting And Frustrating

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame are ahead!

For years, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have prepared themselves for two possibilities concerning Steve Rogers: that he’ll die and that the Captain America mantle would be passed along to a worthy successor. Cut to Avengers: Endgame, Steve is still alive, although now an old man due to traveling back to the 1940s and living a life with Peggy Carter. So even with that Super Soldier Serum coursing through his veins, he likely doesn’t have that many years left.

However, as far as the Captain America identity is concerned, Steve did indeed pick a successor: his longtime friend and crimefighting partner, Sam Wilson, a.k.a. Falcon. We’ll have to wait until the Falcon and Winter Soldier Disney+ series premieres to see if Sam dons his own red, white and blue uniform, but him being chosen to be the next Captain America was one of Avengers: Endgame’s most touching moments, and it definitely makes sense for Sam to take over for a variety of reasons.

However, this moment also came at the expense of Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. Winter Soldier, who, despite also being close with Steve Rogers, was sidelined in Steve’s final scene, even though their friendship has been spotlighted much more throughout the MCU. It’s not an issue of Bucky deserving the virbranium shield over Sam, but the fact that he didn’t get a proper final goodbye with his longtime friend. Thus, it all results in Endgame’s Captain America change-up feeling both fitting and frustrating.

Let’s start off with why it’s fitting that Sam Wilson is now the new Captain America. Getting the obvious reason out of the way first, it’s inspired by the source material. Half a decade ago in the comics, Steve Rogers was drained of the Super Soldier Serum, which aged him to an old man. Because he was no longer physically capable of being Captain America anymore, he appointed Sam to be the new Captain America.

Sam Wilson had a solid run as the Star Spangled Avenger, blending the patriotic motif with his longtime Falcon look. Sam has since reverted to being 100% Falcon, but his time as Captain America definitely stands out in the Marvel canon. But hey, Bucky Barnes also became Captain America in the comics, so why does it make more sense for Anthony Mackie’s Sam to inherit the mantle rather than Sebastian Stan’s Bucky?

For one thing, even when Bucky was serving as Captain America on the printed page, the only reason he initially filled Steve Rogers’ shoes was because he didn’t trust anyone else to be Cap. As time wore on, he started to feel more comfortable in the role, and he even continued on as Captain America for a little bit after Steve Rogers came back to life. But eventually, he went back to serving as plain ol’ Winter Soldier, which will always be a better fit for him.

Ultimately, it boils down to Bucky’s tragic past. Whether he was a brainwashed assassin for the Soviet Union or HYDRA, he will always be weighed down by those decades when he wasn’t in control and force to kill scores of people. He’s seeking redemption for all the harm he caused, but being Captain America is not the way to go about doing that.

In the case of Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, if he had his way, he wouldn’t be fighting at all, as evidenced by how he was leading a quiet life in Wakanda before the events of Avengers: Infinity War unfolded. Alas, life doesn’t always give us what we want, and for now, Bucky’s still in the superhero game. But as Winter Soldier, he still do some good and carve out his own legacy, and it’s also a better identity to rock when going on covert missions.

As far as Sam Wilson goes, while he’s certainly not free from darkness or inner turmoil, he’s ultimately a more hopeful and optimistic character. He can serve as a better beacon of positivity to the public than Bucky can, not to mention that he isn’t weighed down by the same kind of baggage. Bucky didn’t bomb the Vienna UN summit in Captain America: Civil War, but as far as the general public is concerned, he’s still a wanted criminal.

There’s also the fact that since he was unfrozen, Steve Rogers has spent way more time with Sam Wilson than he has with Bucky Barnes. This wasn’t a purposeful decision, just a matter of circumstance given Bucky’s unusual situation. Nevertheless, Steve and Bucky definitely aren’t the same men they were during World War II, and one could argue that Steve and Sam now have a closer relationship, hence why the former knew the latter was a better fit for the Captain America mantle.

So now that the Captain America of it all has been addressed, let’s go back to Bucky Barnes’ overall role in Captain America’s final Avengers: Endgame scene. Before heading into the Quantum Realm, Steve and Bucky had a reversed back-and-forth of their interaction in Captain America: The First Avenger (“Don’t do anything stupid until I come back.” “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.”), but Bucky also seemed to know that Steve didn’t plan on coming back, and when we spotted Old Man Steve at the nearby bench, Bucky allowed Sam to talk to him first.

Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo have since confirmed that Bucky Barnes was aware that Steve Rogers intended to stay in the past, with Joe saying to EW:

Especially when he says goodbye. He says, ‘I’ll miss you.’ Clearly he knows something.

Okay, so evidently Steve informed Bucky of his plan ahead of time, which is fine. It enhances the surprise of seeing Steve as an old man, and I also don’t mind that Sam and Steve were conversing privately for the handoff of the shield.

The problem is that the meaningful farewell these two shared occurred offscreen. We never see these two share a proper goodbye. They might not be as close as they once were, but Steve and Bucky are still tight, and given all the time the MCU has spent highlighting their friendship, you’d that would warrant the audience get to see one last meaningful moment with each other.

Bucky Barnes has been a part of the Captain America mythology since the very beginning and was a key player in all of the Star-Spangled Avenger’s films. For all we know, Chris Evans will never reprise Steve Rogers again, so it’s a shame that Steve and Bucky might never share screen time again. It’s great that Steve informed Bucky about what he planned to do, but we the viewers deserved a better final interaction between the two on the big screen.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, Disney+ has that Falcon and Winter Soldier series coming up, so maybe this isn’t the end of Steve’s time with Bucky and/or Sam. Maybe that show has Chris Evans lined up to make a cameo as Old Man Steve in an episode or two.

Still, given that Avengers: Endgame concluded the Infinity Saga and wrapped up a lot of lingering plot threads, not to mention that not everyone who watches the MCU movies will necessarily watch the Disney+ shows, it would have been better if the movie had better closed the book on Steve and Bucky’s time together, like it did with Steve and Sam. It would have been appropriate and likely squeezed out a few extra cries in a movie that was already quite the tearjerker.

Let us know what you thought of how Avengers: Endgame handled the Captain America twist in the comments below, and be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of the latest MCU movie.

Maisie Williams Drops F-Bomb Over The New Mutants’ Fate

Maisie Williams Drops F-Bomb Over The New Mutants’ Fate

Josh Boone's The New Mutants is currently quite the enigma. Thanks primarily to the Disney-Fox merger, the project has existed in a nebulous state for months now, and nobody seems to be quite sure what its ultimate fate is going to be. This clearly extends to the cast as well, as Maisie Williams recently dropped some profanity-laced comments that basically sum up everything we know about the state of the film:

Who knows when the fuck that’s gonna come out.

That statement comes from an interview that Maisie Williams recently did with Rolling Stone, paired with her Game of Thrones co-star Sophie Turner. Most of the piece is about the two actress' experience making the beloved HBO series leading up to its final season, but a portion of the conversation turned at one point to The New Mutants. Another thing that both Williams and Turner have in common is the fact that they are part of upcoming X-Men projects, but while the latter has Dark Phoenix confirmed for release this June, the former doesn't have much clue what's going to happen with her's.

A significant part of the problem here is the fact that The New Mutants has been planning reshoots, but those reshoots still haven't happened. As explained by Maisie Williams in the interview, the extra days of production are supposed to help the film be a bit scarier - in an attempt, presumably, to try and take advantage of the current horror boom - but if new material has been written, it still hasn't been shot.

In The New Mutants, Maisie Williams is set to portray the first live-action version of Rahne Sinclair a.k.a. Wolfsbane, a mutant who has the ability to shapeshift into both a wolf and a werewolf-like hybrid. She is part of a talented ensemble that includes Anya Taylor-Joy (Illyana Rasputin a.k.a. Magik), Charlie Heaton (Sam Guthrie a.k.a. Cannonball), Blu Hunt (Danielle Moonstar), and Henry Zaga (Roberto da Costa a.k.a. Sunspot), and the story finds them as dangerous young mutants grouped together in a hospital where they can try and gain control over their abilities.

Speaking of the rest of the cast, apparently nobody really seems to know what's going on - or at least that's the sense that Maisie Williams has provided. According to the actress, she recently saw Charlie Heaton, and learned that he has about as much information about The New Mutants as she does.

Right now the movie is on the release calendar for August 2nd, but it's unclear if that date is actually going to happen. For what it's worth, though, it seems that Maisie Williams is eager for the film to be completed and released. Not only did she express hope that the Rolling Stone interview would help light a fire under those making decisions for The New Mutants, but she wants to somehow get the opportunity to star opposite Sophie Turner as Jean Grey in another X-Men title:

It would be ridiculously stupid if they didn’t do that.

We're clearly still in "wait and see" mode when it comes to New Mutants, but you can be sure that as more information about the film becomes available, we'll have them for you here.

Shazam Was Made Into A Life-Sized Phone Charger, And There's Video

Shazam Was Made Into A Life-Sized Phone Charger, And There's Video

In the very first trailer for DC’s Shazam! we see Zachary Levi’s Billy Batson using his newfound superpowers to correct one of the first-world’s most troubling ills, inferior battery technology. The hero uses the lightning power of Zeus to do people a solid, topping off their phone batteries. It’s a super cool way to charge your phone, so cool in fact that Shazam was made into a life-sized phone charger, check it out:

I only have one question: how much? In his Instagram post, Shazam! director David F. Sandberg wonders whether it is the world’s most expensive phone charger so I’m guessing the answer is ‘a lot’, although maybe less than Shazam’s seven-figure suit. Whatever it is, it might be worth it though. Imagine having friends over and they ask if they can charge their phones, only for you to point them to the Shazam statue taking up half your living room.

This Shazam phone charger looks heavy and highly detailed too; you can even see the texture on his suit and the boots. Sadly, this live-sized Shazam doesn’t appear as though it actually shoots lightning out of its fingertips like the scene in the trailer. That’s probably for the best though because even the fanciest modern phones don’t support that format.

Therefore you have to plug in your phone via USB on the base of the charger, like you would with any $10 charger. Maybe those ports charge ultra fast. Even if they don’t, Shazam’s finger lights up, as does the lightning bolt symbol on his chest, and he even has a voice function like a giant action figure, saying “Your phone’s charged.” So even if it's basically charging your phone as normal, you'll feel way better about it.

The charger's effects mirror the delightful scene from the film where the young superhero does what any kid with powers would do, show them off and use them in silly ways to improve everyday life. This phone charger is one very cool bit of functional marketing or, if it winds up being for sale, memorabilia that deep-pocketed DC fans can lust after.

Shazam! is looking to begin paying off that expensive phone charger when it opens in theaters in April. The film is tracking to enjoy a $40 million to $45 million opening weekend. Word of mouth should be good too. Although the full reviews haven’t dropped yet, the early reactions are incredibly positive indicating that DC is really on a roll.

Shazam! bolts into theaters on April 5th, make sure you charge your phone before you see it and then turn it off in the theater. Should this Shazam phone charger go on sale, we’ll keep you updated. In the meantime check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the biggest movies headed to theaters this year.