Dark Phoenix Footage At WonderCon Shows Off Outer Space Chaos And An Emotional Battle

Dark Phoenix Footage At WonderCon Shows Off Outer Space Chaos And An Emotional Battle

Though Dark Phoenix has been in the works for a while, we really haven’t seen all that much footage from the blockbuster. Sure, we’ve seen a couple of trailers come out, but when considered in the context of how much time there was between previews, what we’ve seen doesn’t amount to much. It’s a bit of a surprise, given that the film is now just a few months away from release, but the marketing for the movie broke the drought in a big way today by showing off a couple of full scenes at WonderCon.

20th Century Fox held a special Dark Phoenix panel at the Anaheim Convention Center today, and in addition to having a panel featuring a bunch of stars and filmmakers, the film also showed off nearly 20 minutes of footage. It’s all pretty cool stuff, and you can find the details about it below:

The sequence started with a shot from behind the X Mansion, with the basketball court opening up and the Blackbird launching from the hanger underneath. The X-Men are on a mission - on board are Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) – but it isn’t a typical Earthbound adventure. For the first time ever they are making their way into space, and it’s clear that it’s not an environment in which they are totally comfortable.

News stations from around the world are broadcasting the event, showcasing the popularity of the world’s first superhero team. While the X-Men are on the move, Professor X (James McAvoy) is in Cerebro communicating with NASA, who are reporting an incident with a shuttle in trouble involving a solar flare. As we see through the eyes of the mutant team, however, it’s not exactly a normal cosmic event, as it looks more like there is a dangerous mass floating and getting closer to the troubled spaceship – which is shown spinning out of control with a busted thruster.

Calling the shots, Mystique notes that before they can do anything they need to stop the rotation of shuttle, but Nightcrawler notes that he can’t teleport in because he can’t see into it. The job then falls to Cyclops, who is told that he needs to blast the thruster and stop the spin. He goes below deck, lines his specialized visor up with a periscope-esque targeting system, and successfully fires an optic blast that gets the in-trouble ship to stop.

With the situation more manageable, Nightcrawler and Quicksilver are called into action to teleport to the NASA vessel – and meanwhile Storm seals the damage that’s been done with ice. In hyper-speed mode, Quicksilver takes the seatbelts off all of the astronauts, and then tosses them towards the back of the shuttle where Nightcrawler is waiting. Once everyone is collected, they BAMF and find themselves back on the Blackbird.

All seems well and good and the call is made to head home… until one of the rescued astronauts points out that the mission isn’t done yet. Their commander was in the airlock trying to fix the thruster at the time of the rescue, and he remains there with the “solar flare” getting closer and closer. Mystique wants to leave, not wanting to risk the members of her team for one more person, but Professor X insists that they stay and do everything they possibly can to save the remaining life in danger.

With Storm no longer able to keep the ship together with ice, Jean Grey boldly claims that she can slow the destruction, but she needs to get closer to the ship. Both Cyclops and Professor X back her up, though Beast notes that there is less than a minute before the solar flare hits and becomes too dangerous to survive. The call is made, and Nightcrawler and Jean teleport over, with the powerful telepath keeping the construction of the ship together. The commander is saved by Nightcrawler, but as time runs out Jean finds herself trapped as the flare hits. Cyclops screams asking where Jean is, but all they can do is helplessly watch from afar as the cosmic energy engulfs the damaged shuttle.

With Jean, we watch as she starts to absorb the energy – screaming as she does – and it’s an experience that it seems Professor X has right along with her. What adds an interesting note, however, is that while part of the solar flare seems to try and reach out to the Blackbird, Jean uses her concentration to divert it, and winds up absorbing all of it. The shuttle explodes and everyone thinks that Jean is dead. Once all the chaos is over, Nightcrawler teleports and brings her to be back with the X-Men – and while the group initially mourns, she then opens her eyes to reveal that she is alive (with a bit of orange swimming around in her irises).

The X-Men land back on Earth to much fanfare, and the celebrating continues when they get back to the X Mansion. Everyone is happy, and Professor X is feeling enough pride to cancel all classes for the rest of the day, but Mystique is definitely not happy about the whole situation. After Xavier checks in on Jean Grey, sending her to get a full medical exam, Mystique takes him into his office, and she has a frank discussion with him about the increased risks that are being taken. She is worried about the safety of the recruits, and is afraid that the wheelchair-bound telepath is taking on bigger and bigger challenges just for the sake of his ego. He counters, however, by acknowledging that mutants are being accepted unlike any other time in history, and that only one bad day could result in their kind being hated and despised again. It’s clear that it’s not an issue that is going to be solved with one discussion, but at the very end Mystique gets in one last shot, noting not only that it’s been a minute since Xavier last risked his own life, and that women are so consistently saving the men that the team name should be changed to X-Women.

Jumping ahead in the movie (and clearly skipping over some major, major developments), the other big sequence in the Dark Phoenix footage showed off a showdown that seemingly happens in the second half of the film – so if you don’t wish to be spoiled on anything, you may want to stop reading here.

Starting with Xavier in Cerebro with Cyclops, it’s made clear that Jean Grey has started to go off the deep end, and that crap is really starting to hit the fan. Beast has teamed up with Magneto, and they have decided that Jean needs to die – which, naturally, Professor X is unwilling to let happen. He psychically connects with Nightcrawler, showing the place where he needs to go, and together they travel along with Storm (after some argument) to try and stop the assassination.

The members of the X-Men then quickly find themselves in a confrontation with Magneto and Beast in Central Park, as well as two other mutants: one, Red Lotus, with braids that basically act as prehensile tentacles, and another, Selene, with the ability to control minds. Following a verbal scuffle (including an F-bomb from Cyclops), a battle begins as Magneto makes his way towards a building where Jean Grey and Jessica Chastain’s mystery character are staying, and they know that he is on his way to kill Phoenix – what is basically spelled out as an act of revenge for the killing of Mystique. The fight rages on, but the Master of Magnetism gets the upper hand when he uses his powers to pull an entire subway car out of the ground and positions it to block the entrance of the aforementioned building.

Once inside, Magneto is confronted by Jean Grey and Jessica Chastain’s character, and his big move is executed by pulling a metal banister from its spokes and pointing the jagged end at Jean. As emotional as he is, though, he can’t go through with it. Unfortunately for him, it seems that Jean doesn’t feel the same way. With her heightened abilities, she starts to crush Magneto’s head with the villains helmet… though it cuts to black before we can see what happens.

Overall, the footage was interesting if not just because it shows off a lot of new stuff that we haven’t actually seen in past X-Men movies. The titular team operates in a completely different way than other iterations – particularly with the way in which it pairs certain mutant abilities together in order to achieve a certain goal. It’s also a bit that gives us quite a lot of clarity when it comes to where all of these characters stand within this story – particularly Professor X, Mystique, Magneto, Cyclops, and particularly Jean Grey.

We’ve obviously been waiting for Dark Phoenix for a long time, but it’s now actually almost here. The film will be arriving in theaters everywhere on June 7th, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for not only more of our WonderCon footage, but also our interviews at the convention with the movie’s filmmakers and stars.

The 7 Best And Most Realistic War Movies

The 7 Best And Most Realistic War Movies

War is a rough subject that's very hard to fully grasp if you haven't been there. With that being said, the world of cinema has managed to get the horrors and humor of war right a handful of times, according to the accounts of actual veterans who were actually present for the conflict. Is that all it takes to create one of the best war movies?

Realism is important, of course, but it may not mean a ton if a movie itself isn't a must-watch drama that civilians and those curious are looking to years in the future to understand just how grizzly these conflicts can be. The following are a list of films that hit that mark of best war movies in terms of realism and quality, listed in chronological order.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Arguably the most famous war movie on the list, Francis Ford Coppola's tale of a Vietnam soldier tasked with terminating a rogue officer "with extreme prejudice." The story starts off pretty standardly, and slowly devolves into something much darker and different as the film goes on. This has led to some criticism from veterans, many of whom say the first third of the movie is a far more realistic depiction of war than the parts after. Still, the early stuff seems to be spot on and this is, of course, an enduring movie.

Part of this is due to Francis Ford Coppola's vision, which was to adapt the famous 1899 novella Heart of Darkness into a story about Vietnam. Luckily, the film's engaging story and iconic moments have made it a classic amongst war movie aficionados and certainly a contender for the best war movie of all time.

Das Boot (1981)

Das Boot was a German drama that was based on the novel of the same name and the efforts of a real German submarine, the U-96. The movie was created using a mock-up replica of the actual ship, in an effort to effectively capture the mixture of inaction and action German submariners went through during WWII.

Though the novel's author criticized Das Boot for its glorification of war (the book was meant to be anti-war), American and German audiences responded well to the movie. That's likely thanks in no small part to this best war movie's painstaking recreation of the boat, which was also rented by Steven Spielberg during production for Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Platoon (1986)

There are several great films about the Vietnam War, although Platoon tends to stand out as one of the leaders of the pack in terms of realism. This "best war movie" is often mentioned by Vietnam veterans of one of the most accurate depictions of the war, thanks in no small part to its Vietnam veteran director, Oliver Stone.

Unlike other popular war movies like Apocalypse Now, Stone's screenplay meshes his experience with the accounts of other Marines who were in the conflict. The result was a graphic and powerful performances by talented actors and a depiction of war that won't soon be forgotten. It's even hard to find a criticism on inaccuracies it shows, which speaks both to its realism and quality as one of the best war movies.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

When one thinks of the best war movies, Saving Private Ryan may and definitely should be at the top of the list. The Omaha landing sequence is frequently referenced as one of the most accurate war scenes of WW2 in cinematic history which, quite frankly, is a terrifying thought. What's more impressive is the scene did not get a storyboard, and Steven Spielberg opted instead to direct his camera toward more spontaneous moments.

There are a few less factual parts of the tale, but Steven Spielberg explained that he let realism fall by the wayside for a couple of scenes for dramatic effect, to better speak to the emotion of the story. Perhaps more so than any other entry on this list, Saving Private Ryan walks the line between fact and fiction the best.

Black Hawk Down (2002)

Black Hawk Down is Ridley Scott's telling of The Battle of Mogadishu with an all-star cast that includes the likes of Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett, and Tom Hardy. The story follows three special forces units, all tasked with capturing Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Things go south, and result in an event that ended in the death of 1000 Somali and 19 American soldiers.

While Black Hawk Down is often lauded as one of the best war movies for its accurate combat depictions, it has found criticism for being a fairly one-sided account of the conflict. In reality American soldiers were aided by Malaysian and Pakistani forces, neither of which are represented in the movie. Additionally, Somali advocacy groups have noted the depiction of Somalis in the film is inaccurate, and it's worth noting no Somalis were cast in the film.

We Were Soldiers (2002)

Mel Gibson's We Were Soldiers is a more modern film that chronicles the Vietnam War, and specifically, the Battle of la Drang. It's spot as one of the best war movies is backed by the numerous efforts made to maintain realism and recall the events of Hal Moore's memoir We Were Soldiers Once... And Young.

For all the movie gets right, it does bend the truth in showing the final charge by American forces. There was no such event, and the North Vietnamese were not destroyed. It's one of the big glaring differences, but for the most part, the rest are simply details that seem trimmed for the sake of shortening the story. Perhaps if a TV series was made, the full depiction of events could be brought to life.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Speaking of atypical depictions of war, Hacksaw Ridge tells the mostly true account of Desmond Doss, who went through his service in WW2 without a weapon. Despite his lack of a firearm, Doss saved numerous lives in The Battle of Okinawa at the cost of severe injuries that inevitably affected the rest of his life.

Surprisingly, the factual inaccuracies of Hacksaw Ridge are not on the field of battle, but in the stories outside of Desmond Doss' service. Doss' wife didn't become a nurse until after the war, and the family fight that encouraged him to never use a weapon was between his uncle and father, not his father and mother. Doss was never actually court martial-ed, but was threatened many times. It makes for a great story nonetheless, hence its place on the list.

There are plenty of great war movies and plenty of other realistic war movies out there, so if there are any that have been left off the list that deserve mention for an exceptional mix of quality and realism, drop it down in the comments below. We're always looking to add to our binge-watching lists anyway.

The Curse Of La Llorona Box Office: The Conjuring Universe Has Another Overperformer

The Curse Of La Llorona Box Office: The Conjuring Universe Has Another Overperformer

The Conjuring Universe has unquestionably become one of the strongest brands in the Warner Bros. arsenal. Going back to 2013, every release has been an absolutely massive hit, with the $250 million-plus worldwide earnings for each title looking even more impressive when you consider that none of them have been made with a budget larger than $40 million. It's a train that doesn't appear ready to stop any time soon, and Michael Chaves' The Curse Of La Llorona demonstrated that this weekend by earning the franchise yet another box office crown. Check out its opening weekend numbers - as well as the rest of the Top 10 - below, and join me after for analysis!

It should be noted that The Curse Of La Llorona had the weakest opening of any Conjuring Universe movie thus far - with David F. Sandberg's Annabelle: Creation previously holding that title with its $35 million take back in 2017 - but part of the reason why it can still be considered a victory is the fact that it still managed to exceed expectations. Last week prognosticators suggested that the film would struggle to make more than $20 million, with Box Office Mojo suggesting a $17 million start, but those estimates proved to be a bit too conservative. Instead, the horror flick managed to beat that number by nearly $10 million, which is pretty significant when you consider that the feature only cost a reported $9 million to make.

There is no question that it's a step down for the brand, particularly after the record-breaking numbers put up by Corin Hardy's The Nun last fall, but the performance certainly says something about the hunger for stories in this universe. Adding in numbers from foreign territories, the movie has already made $56.5 million worldwide, and it will likely be the sixth feature in the franchise to get a nine figure total by the end of its theatrical run. It might take an extra minute, though, as there are a few things working against it in the coming weeks.

The first and most obvious roadblock is the forthcoming arrival of what is unquestionably one of the most anticipated blockbuster releases of all time. Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Endgame is expected to have the attention of everyone in the world when screenings start on Thursday night, and there is probably little chance that folks are planning on doing a weird double feature that pairs the three-hour superhero epic with The Curse Of La Llorona.

Also, the film doesn't have quite the same level of buzz that the previous Conjuring Universe efforts have received. Not only have professional reviews not been super kind to the release, but audiences don't seem to be falling in love with it either. On CinemaScore, it doesn't look so great when you compare its "B-" grade" to the "A-" earned by both Conjuring titles and the "B" that both of the Annabelle movies received.

All that being said, it's already profitable after just three days, so Warner Bros. can't complain too much.

Speaking of the studio, this weekend was actually a double win for WB, as another one of their big brands - the DC Extended Universe - crossed an important milestone. It took a few weeks, but David F. Sandberg's Shazam! is now the seventh title in the franchise to join the century club. The movie only dropped about 29 percent in its third week, and while its still the slowest performer among recent DC releases (it's still made only half of what Zack Snyder's Justice League did in 2017), it has an ace up its sleeve: the fact that it didn't cost nearly as much to make as your average big comic book adaptation. Put in perspective, it's already made three times its budget worldwide - albeit before the cost of marketing and publicity.

As for the rest of the Top 10 beyond the two biggest releases, it was actually a very strange weekend. First there is the disappointment of Roxann Dawson's Breakthrough, which failed to make the $17-18 million that was expected in its first five days (screenings started mid-week). It was thought that the feature would get a nice boost from the religious crowd, and it actually earned better reviews than most god-centric releases, but apparently it couldn't stir up too much interest.

That's really the least of it, though, as the big theme for this weekend was unexpected ranking flip flops. For starters, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel seemingly got a boost from the aforementioned forthcoming release of Avengers: Endgame, as the blockbuster jumped from its sixth place position last week into fourth place. The $9.1 million it earned over the last few days now puts its domestic total over $400 million, and its only the seventh of 21 Marvel Cinematic Universe releases to hit that benchmark. To date it has made $1.1 billion worldwide, and while it looks like it won't surpass the numbers put up by Joe and Anthony Russo's Captain America: Civil War back in 2016, the performance is still nothing short of astonishing.

Another surprise this weekend was the performance of Chris Butler's Missing Link - albeit the significance is relative. The stop-motion animated film got off to a depressing start last time around, as it started its theatrical run in ninth place, but this week it actually climbed a bit thanks to the fact that it only dropped about 26.5 percent. The movie has still only made about $13 million in North America, which isn't exactly impressive, but it is trying to put up a fight.

The middle of the chart also saw some weird switches, as Tina Gordon Chism's Little went from second place to fifth, and Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer's Pet Sematary went from fourth to seventh. Those are far less noteworthy than what happened to Neil Marshall's Hellboy, however. The panned Lionsgate release played in the exact same number of theaters this weekend as it did when it opened, but far fewer seats were filled in the last three days. Not only did it drop from third place to 10th, but it suffered a drop of nearly 68 percent. It failed to cross the $20 million mark, and things are looking seriously bad for the feature, which reportedly cost $50 million to make.

It was definitely a weird weekend at the box office, but things should change in a massive way next time around. It's entirely possible that Avengers: Endgame will soon become the new record holder for biggest worldwide opening - and we'll have all of the details for you next Sunday.

Sylvester Stallone Shares Gritty Video From Rambo V: Last Blood Set

Sylvester Stallone Shares Gritty Video From Rambo V: Last Blood Set

Like fellow action stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sylvester Stallone is quite generous with giving his fans behind-the-scenes looks at his movies and showing some of the magic that made them possible. Later this year, the actor returns to his iconic character John Rambo one final time in Rambo V: Last Blood. While we have yet to see a trailer for the movie, Sly has shared a gritty video from the set on social media. Check it out:

We are used to seeing the final product where Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo dispatches bad guys with ruthless brutality, but this video shows how those kinds of scenes are set up. Sylvester Stallone is rehearsing the choreography of the scene, what motions he has to perform and what marks he has to hit. It looks like a lot of fun too, other than the fact that the environment he is in looks rather unpleasant.

As Sylvester Stallone said in the caption on his Instagram, they are underground in a dusty cave where it is hard to breathe. You can clearly see what he’s talking about in the video and it’s an environment that surely adds another level of difficulty to the physical action that he has to perform in the scene.

As for the scene itself, it finds Sly’s Rambo emptying and dropping a shotgun that one imagines he has already used on someone. He then grabs a spear to kill someone on the other side of the wall. The part at the end is the best though, where Rambo dives and gets ready to cut the leg off some poor fool who dared to be on the wrong side of things.

It’s some classically awesome Rambo savagery. Dobby from the Harry Potter stories didn’t mean to kill, only to maim or seriously injure, but Rambo, Rambo means to do all three. He’s a warrior who is just as deadly with modern firearms as he is with hunter-gatherer and early weapons like bow and arrows and spears.

We don’t know the context this scene takes place in during Rambo V: Last Blood, but we know enough about the story to take some guesses. The film sees Rambo living on a ranch when his housekeeper’s granddaughter, who is like a surrogate daughter to him, goes missing in Mexico while searching for her father. It turns out she was kidnapped by a dangerous drug cartel and Rambo goes on a path of vengeance to rescue her.

So maybe this scene takes place in some sort of underground drug tunnel that the cartel uses or is some kind of hideout Rambo must infiltrate in his pursuit of Yvette Monreal’s Gabriella and the deaths of those who kidnapped her. Maybe we’ll get a look at this scene when the first trailer drops, which should hopefully not be that far off.

Rambo V: Last Blood opens in theaters on September 20. Before that there’s plenty still to look forward to this summer, check it all out in our 2019 Release Schedule.

Watch Halle Berry's Intense Weapon Training For John Wick 3

Watch Halle Berry's Intense Weapon Training For John Wick 3

In this weekend’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Keanu Reeves’ titular hitman is finally getting some much-needed backup in the form of Halle Berry’s Sofia. The Oscar-winning actress is no stranger to action franchises, given her history in the X-Men movies and as a Bond girl, but there’s action and then there’s John Wick action. Thus, Halle Berry had to prepare for the role and that meant going through some seriously intense weapons training, which you can see in the video below.

Halle Berry has said that she learned some serious skills training for John Wick 3 and you can’t doubt her after seeing how dedicated she is to the role and how seriously she is taking her training in this video. Getting good with these weapons takes time and effort, and Halle Berry clearly put in the work; she didn’t just show up for a half day one time.

You can see Halle Berry’s progress throughout the video, and her changing outfits indicate her training took place over a period of time; this wasn’t all from one session. This video from Taran Tactical isn’t gussied up with movie magic to make Halle Berry look better or more accurate either, it appears to be all her.

The actress looks like a pro as she quickly reloads and moves from target to target with purpose and confidence, using both a handgun and a rifle. The sequence where she comes off the line, quickly drawing her sidearm and firing before easily switching to her rifle and continuing is particularly badass.

I also like how she looks super intense and serious while doing the training, but can’t help but crack a smile when she’s done and receives a compliment, like on her double taps. Maybe Halle Berry should call up Ruben Fleischer and see if she can snag a role in Zombieland: Double Tap because she’s certainly qualified.

No wonder Halle Berry called up John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum director Chad Stahelski to pitch herself for a role. She obviously loves doing this kind of stuff and is pretty good at it. It must also be mentioned that Keanu Reeves was keeping time for Halle Berry as she went through the course. How cool is that?

The Oscar-winning actress joins the franchise as an old friend of John Wick’s, a former assassin and fellow dog lover who now runs a hotel and no longer goes around shooting people in the head. That won’t last long though, and Halle Berry made sure that she’d look legit and lethal as Sofia, opposite the seasoned pro Keanu Reeves who does the majority of the action in his movies.

Reviews are in and John Wick 3 looks like another great action-filled entry in the series. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is aiming to take the top spot at the box office from Avengers: Endgame when it arrives in theaters this weekend. Check out what you need to remember before seeing it and head over to our 2019 Release Schedule to see what else is hitting theaters this year.

Kathleen Kennedy Teases The Star Wars Sequel Characters Returning For Future Installments

Kathleen Kennedy Teases The Star Wars Sequel Characters Returning For Future Installments

Through the course of the most recent trilogy of films released to the public, the Star Wars saga has introduced new and exciting characters like Poe, Finn, and Rey to audiences that have come to love them. But with the end of the Skywalker Saga coming in Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker, a lot of people are worried their new favorites might not be coming back.

That concern has been addressed Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy who, when asked about whether or not we’ll have to wait for any of these characters to come back, gave a pretty optimistic case for their return:

You know, there is an appropriate time. We're using this appropriate time as an opportunity to see where we're going now that we're leaving the Skywalker Saga behind. But there's no question that there's certain characters that we've created certainly in the last three movies that we may very well wanna see down the line in the future.

So while Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker will close out the stories of characters like General Leia Organa or Luke Skywalker, it sounds like the younger wave of characters that brought this new trilogy to the masses are still up for grabs. And Kennedy had her eye on one specific platform to make that all come true.

As she discussed this matter with MTV News at the most recent Star Wars Celebration, Kathleen Kennedy played the Disney+ card, stating that the platform is being keenly looked at for ways that these characters can live on. Everything from the broad scope of the upcoming Mandalorian series to what Kennedy calls potentially smaller and grittier stories, are in play.

Both film and TV appearances certainly feel like good ideas, and since Poe, Finn, and Rey aren’t as deeply entrenched in the Star Wars lore as key figures like Han Solo or General Leia Organa, there’s room for them to be part of new and exciting adventures outside of that realm. And that’s where the universe seems to be headed on the whole.

With two different film trilogies being crafted by both Rian Johnson, he of Star Wars: The Last Jedi fame, and Game of Thrones masterminds David Benioff and D.B.Weiss, both of those series have opportunities to expand the Star Wars brand to a point where the original trilogy isn’t such a cornerstone of accessibility.

Combine that with the fact that Disney+ has already lined up star-studded shows continuing their Marvel Cinematic Universe, and you’ve got another chance to jump into a new corner of that world. If Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, and Anthony Mackie can jump on board for MCU projects on Disney+, then Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Daisy Ridley don’t sound like terrible reaches.

There’s far from an exact game plan as to how or when we may see our favorite characters from the final trilogy in the Skywalker Saga. But at the very least, there’s hope that we will see them again; and as Star Wars has taught us, hope is a very powerful thing.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brings us the last installment of the Skywalker Saga on December 20th. But seeing as you’re probably an avid moviegoer, use our 2019 release schedule to plan out all the fun movies that can help pass the time between now and then.

The Russo Brothers Share Their Favorite Character Arc in the MCU

The Russo Brothers Share Their Favorite Character Arc in the MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is on the edge of a precipice, with just days left before Avengers: Endgame finally arrives in theaters. The Russo Brothers will bring Phase Three of the MCU to an end, and the stakes could not be higher. Given the state of the shared universe at the end of Infinity War, fans have spent the last year theorizing about what could come next, now that Thanos wiped out half of all life.

Our questions will be answered shortly, as Endgame is just days away from arriving in theaters. The upcoming blockbuster will end the MCU as we know it, and wrap up the characters arcs from many of the OG Avengers. CinemaBlend's Jeff McCobb recently spoke with The Russo Brothers, and asked the co-directors about their favorite arc in the MCU. Joe Russo piped in first, saying:

Cap obviously because we spent so much time with him. And he has gone on a very extreme journey, from First Avenger to Infinity War. He went from a patriot to an insurgent, that’s a very complicated arc.

This answer shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The Russo Brothers joined the MCU in Captain America: Winter Soldier, which is widely considered one of the shared universe's best outings. Since then, they became the architects of Phase Three, and utilized the title character in three more movies, including Endgame.

Joe Russo's comment does make some valid points, as moviegoers have watched Steve Rogers have a pretty unbelievable journey throughout the last eight years. Captain America's story spans decades, and featured him doing an about-face in regards to his belief system. So while the other Avengers have grown before our eyes, Cap arguably had the most seismic change this character.

In the same conversation with CinemaBlend at CinemaCon 2019, Anthony Russo echoed his brother's sentiments, agreeing that Captain America was their favorite. He said,

I would have to say Cap. It’s just, we’ve been so focused on that character. He was our access point to the MCU as storytellers. Having been born, and grown up, and come of age during World War II. Having that all torn away from you, and waking up 70 years later. It’s a really profound journey that character’s been on. A lot of hardship. And a lot of nobility in his heart. And we’ve had a lot of fun trying to figure that character out over the years.

Once again, the Russo Brothers show that they're great at working together. The co-directors have shared a singular vision for the MCU, and done the impossible with their work on large ensemble projects like Captain America: Civil War. And through it all, Chris Evans' signature character has been their favorite Avenger to see onscreen.

You can't blame The Russo Brothers for having some favoritism, as the Captain America franchise was how they were able to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and eventually rose to the top of the creative ladder. They brought a surprising amount of realism and grit to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, including stunning action sequences and plot twists that rocked the shared universe to its core.

Related: Avengers: Infinity War’s Writer Knows Captain America Didn’t Get Enough Lines

Captain America: Civil War is another great feat, and their second go in the MCU. But rather than focusing solely on Steve Rogers, The Russo Brothers were given the challenge of bringing in most of MCU's heroes to the playing field. It wasn't an easy task, and moviegoers had some trepidations going into theaters. But the directors juggled a big cast, and fractured The Avengers as we know them.

You can check out our conversation with The Russo Brothers at CinemaCon 2019 below.

From the interview above, you can really see how much Captain America means to Joe and Anthony Russo. And while they've gotten to know all the major Marvel characters with their work on Civil War and the Avengers movies, Steve Rogers continues to be their favorite arc in the shared universe.

While plenty of moviegoers have their favorite Avenger, you can't deny the validity of The Russo Brothers' points. Just look at how his journey compares to other major Marvel characters. Tony Stark went from billionaire playboy to a superheroic leader, but he hasn't changed that much since the first Iron Man movie ended. Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow continues to be a mystery, although that might change when her solo outing finally arrives. And while Thor is more responsible and humble, he's still largely the same God of Thunder we met in his first flick.

The Russo Brothers might have a favorite in Captain America, but they've got plenty of character arcs to wrap up when Avengers: Endgame arrives next week. Many of the original Avengers actors are coming to the end of their contracts, so fans may finally bid goodbye to folks like Cap, Iron Man, and Thor. And given the high stakes after Thanos' snap of death (aka The Decimation), it seems likely that at least one of those icons will end up being killed off.

In addition to ending certain character arcs, The Russo Brothers also have the responsibility of opening up narrative possibilities. While Marvel Studios hasn't revealed their plans for Phase Four yet, the fandom is expecting quite a few sequels over the next few years. But with Black Panther, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians all faded to dust as a result of Thanos' victory, the future is currently unclear.

Most moviegoers assume that the dusted heroes will somehow be resurrected throughout the course of Avengers: Endgame. Exactly how that'll be done is unclear, but it seems like Phase Four depends on it. Because unless the future is filled with prequels, it doesn't seem like the MCU can continue on any other way.

Answers should finally come once Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, fill out CinemaBlend's Endgame death pool, and check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.