IT Chapter Two: What We Know So Far

IT Chapter Two: What We Know So Far

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains massive spoilers about Stephen King's novel, IT, as well as director Andres Muschietti's adaptation. If you have not read the book and/or haven't seen the movie, and don't wish to know details of the story, you may want to check out another one of our wonderful articles!

For years it was said that Stephen King's IT was an unfilmmable novel -- but director Andres Muschietti has proven that idea to be very wrong. While it's true that the entire story couldn't be crammed into just one movie, the filmmaker did an impressive job bringing to life half of the epic in his adaptation, and now audiences are hotly anticipating the follow-up, IT Chapter Two. And that's the project that we're here today to discuss.

IT has managed to become one of the most successful horror movies of all time, and, as such, the sequel has quickly started moving through development. But when will it come out? Who is going to be at the helm? What can we expect from the main characters? We'll dive into all of that and more below and on the next few pages, so read on and learn What We Know So Far about IT Chapter Two!

What Is IT Chapter Two's Release Date?

When IT was released in 2016, Warner Bros. had ideas about a sequel, but they also weren't confident enough in the possibility to carve out a release date for the project. That changed very fast when the the film had the biggest horror movie opening of all time, and now we know that IT Chapter Two will be hitting theaters everywhere on September 6, 2019.

Despite the many limitations of a fall release - specifically the fact that families around the country are busy getting their kids back to school - the first IT did spectacularly when it came out in September 2017, so it's very little surprise that Warner Bros. would go back to that well for the follow-up. As for why the turnaround is so fast, surely part of it is because the studio wants to capitalize on success as quickly as possible - but the other major issue is the cast of young stars who are growing older and more mature every day.

What Will IT Chapter Two Be Rated?

Andres Muschietti's IT may feature child actors in almost all of the main roles, but the film is hardly made for movie-goers of the stars' age set. Unlike the 1990 miniseries that had to be somewhat censored due to network television restrictions, the movie fully leans into the profanity and violence that is featured in the original novel, and the MPAA delivered it an R rating as a result. And, while we can't say with absolute certainty just yet what the final grade will be on IT Chapter Two, there is less than a one percent chance that it's anything other than R.

The reality is that the MPAA doesn't deliver ratings until a theatrical cut is put together and near ready to go to theaters, so it will be a while before anything is made official. That being said, Andres Muschietti was very clear with his intentions to make his version of IT an R-rated adaptation, and there is no reason to believe that there will be a change of heart in that department when the sequel gets made (especially because the R-rating proved to not be an issue when box office figures were collected).

What Will IT Chapter Two Be About?

As alluded to earlier, IT was an adaptation of only half of Stephen King's original novel. The book's narrative actually takes place across two different time periods: the late 1950s, when the main characters are children; and the mid-1980s, when the main characters are 40-year-old adults. Obviously the first film exclusively focused on the kids (changing the setting to 1989), but IT Chapter Two will be centered around the adults and take place in the year 2016.

The story will pick up 27 years after the first movie (in case you couldn't do that math yourself), and will find The Losers Club forced to reunite in Derry, Maine when they learn that It has returned and started a new killing spree. With the exception of Mike, who stayed behind in the town while everyone else left, all of the Losers completely forget about what happened to them as kids, and find their memories start to return when they get back to the haunted burb.

It should be noted that while IT took on a completely linear narrative, that will not be the case for IT Chapter Two. As noted earlier, it has been confirmed that the young stars of the first movie -- Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor and Jack Dylan Glazer -- will all be back for the sequel, and will be featured in flashback sequences that reveal more about the nature of It and how the evil entity can be defeated.

Who Will Direct IT Chapter Two?

IT was a film that was notably in the works for a long time under writer/director Cary Fukunaga, but when that fell apart due to behind-the-scenes issues, Andres Muschietti was the director that Warner Bros. decided to call. It was a fairly risky proposition for the company, putting the brand in the hands of a filmmaker who had only made one movie - 2013's Mama - but Muschietti wound up absolutely killing it, and will be back at the wheel steering things for IT Chapter Two.

The Argentinian filmmaker has repeatedly talked about his vision for how IT Chapter Two would play out, going back to when the first movie was still in production, and given the box office numbers that IT put up it was impossible to believe that Warner Bros. would bring on anybody else to make the follow-up. Thankfully, they made the right call, and Andres Muschietti will be able to fully complete his vision of Stephen King's terrifying world.

Bill Denbrough

Stephen King really loves to write about writers (see: The Shining, Misery, Salem's Lot, The Dark Half, etc.) and IT is one of the many titles in that trend. Specifically, Bill Denbrough grows up to leave Derry and become a best-selling horror author -- one whose books have been repeatedly adapted for the movies (sound familiar?). He completely loses his stutter, and gets married to the beautiful actress Audra Phillips, who we eventually learn bears a striking resemblance to Beverly Marsh. When he learns that he is needed back in Derry to take on Pennywise again, his stutter returns, and he is forced to abandon the London set of a film for which he wrote the script, asking Audra to cover for him. She does, but also winds up following him to the United States, which results in grave consequences.

Bill is the true leader of The Losers Club and the one that all of the others look up to -- but he is hardly without his own personal demons. Into adulthood he remains ever haunted by what happened to his brother, Georgie, as he believes that it was his fault and that it completely tore his family apart. Subconsciously, his work stems from the trauma he experienced when his young sibling was killed by Pennywise, and it remains fodder for It when Bill returns to his hometown.

Actor Jaeden Lieberher went on the record saying that he wanted to see The Dark Knight star Christian Bale take on the challenging part of Bill Denbrough in IT Chapter Two, but the production has landed a different comic book movie star instead. The man who plays young Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, James McAvoy, has been tapped to play the adult version of Stuttering Bill, making it the first time he's done a Stephen King adaptation. It isn't, however, the first time that he's had the chance to work with the new sequel's female lead...

Beverly Marsh

Played by Sophia Lillis, Beverly Marsh gets one of the few complete arcs among the members of The Losers Club in IT -- particularly in the realm of overcoming the advances of her horrible, abusive father. She also finally ignites the spark between herself and Bill Denbrough, giving him the kiss she's always wanted to deliver. Unfortunately it's in their last moment together before she moves out of town and they don't see one another for another 27 years.

Beverly Marsh winds up being a woman trapped, going from one abusive relationship to the next. In Stephen King's book, Beverly marries a man named Tom Rogan, who shares some vile traits with her father, and finds occasion to beat her with his belt when he believes she is disobeying him. Despite this, however, Beverly is living well, making a home in Chicago as a well-known fashion designer. It's noteworthy that she also never fully forgets Bill, as she happens to be a fan of his books while basically only remembering that they grew up together. Their shared spark returns after they reunite in Derry to stop the return of Pennywise.

There was a good amount of debate surrounding who should play adult Beverly in IT Chapter Two, with Amy Adams getting a lot of mention, but Sophia Lillis said that she wanted the part to be played by Jessica Chastain... and she actually got her wish. Chastain notably not only previously worked with Andres Muschietti on his directorial debut, Mama, but, as alluded to, has already worked a lot with star James McAvoy. Not only did they make X-Men: Dark Phoenix together, but also the trio of films known as The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

Mike Hanlon

Because they managed to escape the wretched, evil den that is Derry, Maine, six out of the seven members of The Losers Club go on to be immensely successful professionals -- but Mike Hanlon is the exception. As the group member with the deepest ties to the town, he designated himself as the Watchmen, and stayed behind in Derry to make sure that It would not come back following its defeat. Unfortunately, Mike discovers that the Losers were not able to completely kill the evil entity, and he winds up calling all of his former friends back so that they can take on Pennywise once again, as they promised they would.

While a good chunk of Mike's role within the group was taken by Ben in Andres Muschietti's IT (as he is really meant to be the future historian of the seven kids), it has been confirmed that Mike will be the one to stay behind in Derry in IT Chapter Two, and will age rather horribly as a result. What's more, the director has said that his vision of adult Mike will be a librarian who is also a functioning heroin addict, using the drugs to help him deal with the suppressive evil of the town.

Chosen Jacobs, who plays young Mike in IT, has said that he would love to see Chadwick Boseman be the actor to take on the seriously dark role, but it would appear that Boseman, perhaps, is a bit too busy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead, the role of adult Mike Hanlon will be played by Isaiah Mustafa, who is probably best known for his time as the Old Spice spokesperson, but has recently been starring on the television series Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments for three seasons.

Ben Hanscom

Outside of his love for Beverly Marsh and the music of New Kids On The Block, Ben Hanscom is portrayed as an immensely smart young man by Jeremy Ray Taylor in IT, and should IT Chapter Two follow Stephen King's book he will wind up going into a very profitable field. Andres Muschietti doesn't really showcase any of Ben's impressive engineering prowess in the movie, but the version of the character from the novel grows up to be one of the world's best known architects, living in Nebraska. He's single and unattached when he gets the call from Mike that he is needed back in Derry for a second round with It, but he is nonetheless stressed out -- featured in a sequence where he downs a full stein of Wild Turkey in the span of a few minutes.

One significant change that Ben goes through on his way to adulthood is that he also becomes impressively fit. While he is notoriously singled out as the "fat kid" among the members of The Losers Club, an encounter with some bullies and a horrible gym teacher during his teen years inspires him to totally change, lose weight, and become the fastest kid in his school. I'll say it now: it would be crazy if this story were not included in IT Chapter Two.

It was the story of impressive weight loss that may have inspired Jeremy Ray Taylor to choose Chris Pratt for the role of adult Ben Hanscom, as the actor famously got in great shape so that he could be in fighting form to star in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the stars didn't align on that one. Instead, the part has gone to Kiwi actor Jay Ryan - who is probably the least-known actor among the adults in the ensemble. His work on the big screen has been limited, but has has done a lot of television work, including the CW's Beauty and the Beast and Top of the Lake.

Richie Tozier

Finn Wolfhard's interpretation of Richie Tozier isn't exactly like the character in the book, as he doesn't really do as many ridiculous "Voices" -- but what they definitely do share in common is foul minds and motor mouths. He is definitely the funniest member of The Losers Club, but he also has a spectacular knack for getting people pissed off at him. All the same, his sense of humor winds up taking him far in the novel, as he becomes a member of the entertainment industry living in Los Angeles.

The adult version of Richie Tozier in the 1990 miniseries, played by Harry Anderson, was portrayed as a TV host, but Stephen King's character is a successful DJ who bails on an interview with Clarence Clemons of The E Street Band so that he can fly back to Maine and reunite with his childhood friends. They are both delighted and dismayed to discover that his sense of humor has not dissipated with age.

Making what many have argued is a rather perfect choice, Finn Wolfhard suggested that Bill Hader should be given the part of Richie in IT Chapter Two - and like the case with Jessica Chastain, the filmmakers simply couldn't make a better choice themselves. Hader will indeed play adult Richie Tozier in the sequel, getting to play more serious drama like he does on his HBO series Barry and like he did in the movie The Skeleton Twins.

Eddie Kaspbrak

Adult Eddie Kaspbrak actually winds up sharing a lot in common with adult Beverly Marsh in Stephen King's IT, as while both do very well in their respective business fields, their lives are also anchored by memories of their terrible parents. While Tom Rogan is a reflection of Beverly's horribly abusive dad, Eddie winds up marrying a woman exactly like his mom: overweight, overprotective, and regularly trying to stifle her husband's life.

Things in the story could certainly change in IT Chapter Two (the 1990 miniseries had Eddie still living with his mom), but the Stephen King-written version lives in Chicago and operates an oddly well-performing car service (he forces his wife to take a gig with Al Pacino so that he can leave for Derry). It is perhaps because the memory of his mother still lingers in his wife that he remains dependent on his aspirator, despite being told as a child that it is just a placebo.

Jack Dylan Grazer picked Jake Gyllenhaal as the actor he wanted to see play adult Eddie, which would have been great, but instead IT Chapter Two has signed popular character actor James Ransone for the part. While you may not know his name, you probably know his face, as he's been consistently working in the industry for nearly 20 years now. One of his first gigs was as Chester 'Ziggy' Sobotka on The Wire, but more recently he's appeared in both Sinister movies, and the Amazon television series Bosch.

Stan Uris

While Mike Hanlon places six calls to the members of The Losers Club in Stephen King's novel, only five of them actually make their way to Derry, Maine. This is because Stan Uris -- a successful accountant living in Atlanta, Georgia -- decides not to go and make good on the promise that he made to his friends as a kid. Instead, much to his wife's surprise, Stan responded to the phone call by going to the second floor bathroom of his house, running a bath, and killing himself by slitting his wrists with a razor. Before he dies, he uses his blood to write the word "IT" on the bathroom wall. Bill and Mike ultimately blame the entity for Stan's fate, but it's never entirely confirmed what happened.

The description of Stan's death is featured only a few chapters into IT, so it will be interesting to see how his role will be handled in IT Chapter Two. Could the sequel pull a bait and switch on book fans and have a different character take the fate of Stan? If not, an adult version of him could also be used by Pennywise to haunt the living Losers, which would make the role at least a little more substantial.

Wyatt Oleff, who brought Stan to life in IT, interestingly played a kid version of a Chris Pratt character as young Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but the actor instead told us that he wants to see the part of adult Stan go to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Given the size of the role, that was probably never going to happen, and instead the part has gone to Andy Bean - a relative newcomer whose parts include a recurring role on the show Power, and an unnamed lawyer in Transformers: The Last Knight.

Pennywise The Dancing Clown a.k.a. It

Actor Bill Skarsgard did a tremendous job bringing Pennywise The Dancing Clown to life in IT -- sporting a very different look than the Tim Curry version and inspiring new nightmares all the same. At the end of the film he was obviously defeated by The Losers Club, given a nice beating in his physical form and forced to hibernate early down in the drains of Derry -- but he will be back with a new spirit of vengeance in IT Chapter Two.

Certain elements of It were left out of the children side of the story, including all mentions of the entity's moral counterbalance, The Turtle, but Andres Muschietti has spoken about getting more into the existence of It and its nature in the upcoming sequel. This could lead the blockbuster into some truly trippy areas, so we can't wait to see how the filmmaker goes about portraying It's true form, the deadlights, and the macroverse.

Henry Bowers

IT a.k.a. Pennywise is unquestionably the primary antagonist in Andres Muschietti and Stephen King's IT, but Henry Bowers (played by Nicholas Hamilton) does repeatedly do his part to totally fuck with The Losers Club's individual lives. A violent bully raised by an abusive father, he takes immense pleasure in making the lives of Bill, Beverly, Ben, Mike, Stan, Eddie and Richie hell, and becomes a useful tool of It as a result. Of course, this doesn't end too well for him in the movie, as after killing his father he falls down a long well in the basement of the Neibolt House following a showdown with Mike.

Assuming that Henry survived this fall, Stephen King's book suggests things won't go well for him as an adult in IT Chapter Two. Rather than becoming a fully-functioning member of society, he instead winds up spending most of his adult life in Juniper Hills Asylum -- a home for the criminally insane. It is with the help of It, who speaks to Henry through the moon, that he escapes this institution and makes his way back to Derry to get his revenge on his old school chums. In addition to featuring the return of Nicholas Hamilton, the upcoming movie has cast actor Teach Grant as adult Henry Bowers, and hopefully he'll have what it takes to scare the crap out of audiences

Avengers: Endgame Doesn't Need Another Trailer, Marvel VP And Fans Seem To Agree

Avengers: Endgame Doesn't Need Another Trailer, Marvel VP And Fans Seem To Agree

Do you think Avengers: Endgame needs another trailer? Marvel Studios Digital Marketing VP Dustin Sandoval is asking. The trailer we just got last week was billed as the final full trailer, which doesn't mean we won't get more footage in TV spots or other sneak peeks. But it's interesting that the digital marketing exec just put the trailer question to fans anyway. The responses are also pretty telling.

Most -- but not all -- of the replies to his tweet agree that Avengers: Endgame does NOT need another trailer. Remember just a few months ago, when fans were losing their minds asking for the first Avengers 4 trailer? Now they don't want more. Good times. Star Wars fans, you're next for that ride.

Some fans are worried more trailer footage would spoil Endgame surprises ahead. But others want another trailer showing Thanos and more footage of the team. As one fan tweeted:

No, I don't want to know any more than I currently know about it until I'm sitting in the theater watching it. The fact that we know so little about it is part of what makes it so exciting, and I would hate to see them blow that.

Another fan suggested a recap video as opposed to new footage, as a better way to prepare us for the 22nd Marvel Cinematic Universe movie:

No trailer. But a video recap montage of the journey so far would be pretty cool. There's 22 MCU movies and I only realize its that many when I actually look back at the posters.

To quote Thor: "I like this one." Yes to a recap video. It would be surprising if Marvel Studios wasn't already on top of some kind of official video bringing the stories together, as opposed to fan videos like that great Captain America tribute. One fan seemed to be battling himself/herself on whether to pick yes or no:

No, it will only give us more info that may risk spoiling the plot and outcome of the movie.

Yes, I JUST WANT MORE INFO! I AM CRAVING FOR IT! I NEED MORE! MORE!

This Thor meme remains my favorite response, and probably the one closest to my own reaction:

We absolutely don't need another Avengers: Endgame trailer or any other new footage in a TV spot, sneak peek, behind-the-scenes footage, toys, magazines, interviews, etc. But if you give any of that to me I am going to drink it down and want more. Don't enable me.

The first Avengers 4 trailer was released in early December 2018, revealing the title as Endgame. This same Dustin Sandoval had tweeted at the time that Marvel Studios tried not to spoil the title via the online marketing, but fans "spoiled" it anyway:

Marvel shared more footage in its Super Bowl 2019 trailer. And just last week, on March 14, we got the latest full trailer and the theatrical poster.

Even with all we know so far about Avengers: Endgame, there are still so many questions. It's probable the movie will still leave us with plenty of questions, since it's meant to change the game for the MCU, but not end the MCU. This universe is continuing onward with no plans for its own endgame.

Avengers: Endgame opens in theaters Friday, April 26, as one of the many movies opening on the big screen in 2019.

Avengers: Endgame Has Locked Its Movie Edit, Here’s How The Russos Celebrated

Avengers: Endgame Has Locked Its Movie Edit, Here’s How The Russos Celebrated

This weekend marks the release of Captain Marvel, meaning that Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers is understandably and rightly going to be getting a lot of attention. That said, it won’t be too much longer of a wait for the movie following this 1990s-set origin story, as Avengers: Endgame arrives at the end of April. That said, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have officially crossed another item off their Endgame to-do list by locking in the movie edit, and they celebrated this by snacking on some sugary treats.

If you’re wondering what it means for Avengers: Endgame to have its edit locked, it's that the Russos and their editing team are done assembling everything together. There’s still some work to be done before the movie is officially finished, namely the VFX crew putting the final touches on certain shots, but there won’t be anymore scenes thrown in or taken out. What’s in Endgame currently is what moviegoers will see when it’s finally thrown up on the big screen, so in these remaining weeks, the other departments can go about perfecting the final product. Crossing such a milestone definitely warrants hitting up the sundae bar, as the Russos showed on Twitter, although I’ll advocate for that being appropriate for any major achievement. I also appreciate that Whoppers were being offered, as they’re one of the underrated topping options.

One of the big questions that’s been asked about Avengers: Endgame over the last year is how long it will be. Back in November, Joe Russo said that the running time stood at three hours, and then in late December, he said there was a “high probability” it would clock in around that same period since, as he later put it, there’s a lot of “real estate.” Endgame’s runtime hasn’t been officially confirmed yet by Marvel, but whatever it is, it’s now set in proverbial stone. Endgame is not only the final Phase 3 installment, but also the end of this iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it began with 2008’s Iron Man, so it’s safe to assume that it will cover a lot of ground to give fans a proper conclusion of sorts.

With less than two months to go until Avengers: Endgame, presumably more advertising will be shown. That said, so far only one trailer and a Super Bowl TV spot have been released, and they provided barely any plot details. If Marvel is wanting to keep this secrecy train going, that’s going to make it hard to kick marketing to the next level, but considering how popular the MCU has grown over the last decade, it’s not like Marvel Studios has to worry about a low turnout for Endgame. Given how Avengers: Infinity War ended, you can be sure most, if not all the people who saw that movie will want to see how the conflict with Thanos is resolved.

Avengers: Endgame opens in theaters on April 26, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. For information about what else is coming down the MCU pipeline, look through our comprehensive Phase 4 guide.

Shazam! Producer Calls The Marvel And DC Rivalry ‘Bullshit’

Shazam! Producer Calls The Marvel And DC Rivalry ‘Bullshit’

Marvel and DC Comics have been business rival for decades. It makes sense. The two companies are in the same business of publishing comic books, largely about superheroes. Now, both companies are making movies about those same superheroes. While the competition may make sense from a business standpoint, Peter Safran, producer of the upcoming Shazam!, doesn't think the rivalry ever needs to extend to fans. He thinks fans of superhero comic books have more in common than they realize, which goes beyond the label on the book, and he's got some pretty strong words for those that disagree.

As an example of this, Safran points out that director James Gunn is getting ready to helm both a DC movie (The Suicide Squad) and a Marvel movie (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3). For him, this is a prime example that both sides of this debate can get along. According to the producer...

I’ve always believed, that which unites comic book fans, is much greater than that which divides us. And so the whole Marvel, DC rivalry thing is kind of bullshit. Because really we’re all fans of the same thing. I love the fact that he’s directed a movie for Marvel and directed a movie for DC. And the Earth is not spinning off its axis. It’s okay.

It seems that picking sides is an intrinsic part of being a fan of something, whether people are drawing a line between comic book characters or video game consoles. Once a person chooses to invest emotionally or financially in one thing, defending it against attacks from the other side becomes part of being a fan. That's certainly the case in the classic Marvel/DC rivalry which has now spilled over into the the cinematic universes that both companies have created. It seems like most people, or at least the most vocal, have chosen which one they love, and have written off the other.

However, as Peter Safran tells Uproxx, there might be a crack in the wall between Marvel and DC. Zachary Levi actually had a small role in Marvel's Thor franchise before he became the title character of Shazam!, but now, we have the first director who will make films in both franchises.

It was an interesting turn of events when James Gunn was removed from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, only to eventually find his way to writing and directing the second Suicide Squad movie. It certainly made sense, both were comic book movies that focused on a team of dysfunctional heroes. However, things took an even stranger turn when we learned that Gunn had been hired back by Disney and would actually direct both films, one after the other.

People will always need to make choices with their entertainment dollars and not everybody is going to be able to afford to go see every comic book superhero movie in the theaters. In that case, choices must be made, and one might decide to spend their money on one cinematic universe exclusively over the other. But even then, there's no reason you can't also be a fan of the other. Having a favorite superhero doesn't mean you can't also like all the other ones, regardless of which brand they're associated with.

How Does One Return The Soul Stone? We Asked The Avengers: Endgame Writers

How Does One Return The Soul Stone? We Asked The Avengers: Endgame Writers

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. If you have not yet seen the film, read on at your own risk!

While we don’t actually see it play out, Captain America takes on one hell of a mission at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Needing to shut down off-shoots in reality, he volunteers to travel in time and put the Infinity Stones back where they belong – ultimately also deciding to live out a normal life with Peggy Carter and fully experience the second half of the 20th century. Most of the trip is pretty straight forward, from bringing the Tesseract back to the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in 1970, to bringing the Power Stone back to Morag in 2014, but of the individual six missions, the returning of the Soul Stone would seem to be a strange and unique challenge.

As audiences will remember, unlike most of the Infinity Stones (which could be taken by the Avengers provided they had proper containment), the Soul Stone was a bit trickier to acquire. Rather than simply being recovered from an amulet or extracted with a special device, obtaining the ingot not only required a trip to the mysterious planet Vormir, but also making an important sacrifice. Knowing this, an interesting question is raised about Captain America’s final mission: how does one go about returning the Soul Stone?

This is a matter that vigorously rolled around in my head following my first screening of Avengers: Endgame, and I was fortunate enough to recently have the opportunity to ask the perfect people about it. Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for the latest episode of our HeroBlend podcast, and I made it a personal priority to ask them about the Soul Stone. It was a question that they not only appreciated, but also had an answer for, explaining,

Stephen McFeely: It's a good question. I think it is an everlasting exchange.

Christopher Markus: There's a slot.

Stephen McFeely: That's right. Yeah, that's right. It's like an old time bank. It's a pneumatic tube.

Christopher Markus: You put it back, but you don't get anything in return. It's not like a pawn shop.

There was some hope among fans that Captain America returning the Soul Stone to Vormir would potentially mean the resurrection of Black Widow, who died so that the Avengers could acquire the key treasure during their time heist, but that’s evidently not the case. While Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's answer was a tad jokey, it seems that once that particular trade is made, there are no takebacks - so despite Cap making the effort to fix the timeline, that particular death is permanent.

This information also seems to confirm that the upcoming Black Widow movie will definitely be a period piece that will be set prior to the events of Avengers: Endgame. This is something that has been rumored for a while now, but if the titular heroine is most definitely dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe then there really aren’t any other story options available to the filmmakers.

Of course, there is also still another major component that needs to be discussed here, which is that Captain America returning the Soul Stone would presumably also result in a reunion with his World War II nemesis, Johann Schmidt a.k.a. the Red Skull. Because of the way things play out in Avengers: Endgame, it’s a situation that is simply left to our imaginations, but one has to figure that Steve Rogers would be pretty damn surprised to discover the fate of the former head of Hydra following his handling of the Tesseract in 1945.

That being said, the writers of the latest Marvel Studios blockbuster definitely wish it was a reunion that they could have somehow included in the movie. After all, in addition to writing both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, they also penned the scripts for the entire Captain America trilogy. I asked Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely if the 2019 film had ever included a scene where Cap and Red Skull were reunited, and they explained what happened thusly:

Christopher Markus: That was hard for me personally to get over.

Stephen McFeely: That's right. That's true. I remember.

Christopher Markus: Because I very much wanted like, 'How are we not getting Cap into space to see the Red Skull?’ And it just otherwise was not the story to tell for Cap, but it is extremely tempting.

And while one could hope that perhaps someday we’ll get to see a movie that features Captain America’s version of Infinity Watch, it sadly sounds like that’s never going to happen. This is specifically because directors Joe and Anthony Russo have confirmed Chris Evans’ retirement playing the character, and that’s most definitely a film that you couldn’t make without him. Perhaps the actor will eventually change his mind and decided that he really misses the character, but for now audiences should really just feel satisfied with the perfect send-off that he gets in the new film.

This particular conversation is just a taste of the awesome, deep dive discussion I got to have with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely about Avengers: Endgame, so do yourself a favor and listen to the HeroBlend interview in full by clicking play on the embed below!

Does this take on the Soul Stone jive with your own personal theories following Avengers: Endgame? Are you like Christopher Markus and truly wish that a Captain America-Red Skull reunion happened on the big screen? Let your voice be heard in the comments section below.

Avengers: Endgame is now playing in theaters all around the world, and we’re really only just getting started with our in-depth analysis and what the movie means for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We have many more features and articles coming your way in the next few weeks, so stay tuned here on CinemaBlend – and be sure to subscribe to our HeroBlend podcast so that you’ll get to listen to new episodes as they are released every Friday!

What Megan Fox Has Been Doing Since The Transformers Movies

What Megan Fox Has Been Doing Since The Transformers Movies

After appearing in projects like Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Two and a Half Men and Hope & Faith, Megan Fox was propelled to worldwide stardom when she was cast in 2007’s Transformers, the first live action adaptation featuring the robots in disguise. Fox gained a lot of attention and media exposure for her portrayal of Mikaela Banes, but while we’re still getting Transformers movies (the Bumblebee spinoff rolled into theaters last December), Fox’s time in the film series would be short, as she departed after the second movie.

However, don’t think that Megan Fox’s career has slowed down since then. While she’ll arguably always be best known for her time in the Transformers universe, she’s starred in various other movies and television shows that have allowed her to stretch other acting muscles, with the occasional foray back into blockbuster territory.

So if you’re interested in learning what she’s been up to in the decade since her last Transformers appearance, read ahead to learn about the most notable Megan Fox movies and TV shows that have come out since then.

Transformers Movies

Actually, let’s first quickly recap Megan Fox’s time on the first two Transformers movies. Her character, Mikaela Banes, served as the love interest of Shia LaBeouf’s character, Sam Witwicky, and she was also quite skilled at fixing and stealing cars thanks to lessons from her incarcerated father. Transformers is what put Fox on the map for a lot of people, and she was nominated for three Teen Choice Awards and an MTV Movie & TV Award for her participation in that movie.

Megan Fox returned for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the plan was for her to be back for the third installment, Dark of the Moon, too. However, plans changed after Fox compared working with director Michael Bay to working for Hitler. After initially refusing to apologize, Fox later retracted this statement and said she was “very fortunate” to be part of the Transformers franchise, but the damage was already done. She was eventually fired and replaced in Dark of the Moon by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who played Carly Spencer, Sam Witwicky’s new girlfriend.

Jennifer’s Body

Although Megan Fox had already completed work on Jennifer’s Body before her ungraceful departure from the Transformers franchise, it’s nonetheless notable for being her first movie after the debacle, coming out just three months after Revenge of the Fallen. Jennifer’s Body sees Fox’s titular character becoming demonically possessed and killing her male classmates in order to survive, and her best friend Needy, played by Amanda Seyfried, tries desperately to stop her.

Upon its initial release, Jennifer’s Body was met with mixed-to-negative reviews, and it didn’t make much of a splash at the box office either. However, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, the movie has received more attention for its depiction of sexual harassment and how Jennifer later uses her body to exact revenge on those who wronged her. Now Jennifer’s Body is considered more of a cult classic, but whether or not viewing it through this news lens makes it better is up to the respective viewer.

Jonah Hex

A year after Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Jennifer’s Body, Megan Fox returned for Jonah Hex, which brought the same-named DC Comics character to live action for the first time. In the movie, Fox played Lilah, a gun-toting prostitute who is dragged into the chaos that Josh Brolin’s scarred bounty hunter in caught up in. It’s revealed later that Lilah’s real name is Tallulah Black, who is a character from the Jonah Hex comics, although Fox’s version didn’t have the scarred physical appearance of her comic book counterpart.

Alas, like a lot of pre-DCEU DC Comics movies not centered on Batman or Superman, Jonah Hex was met with negative reviews, and it was also a huge box office bomb, making a little under $10 million despite costing $47 million to make. Fortunately for Fox, this wouldn’t be the last time she’d get to leave her mark on a property that began as a comic book, but we’ll get to that later.

Friends With Kids

Thus far we’ve looked at Megan Fox’s experience in genre work, but she also has experience in the comedy realm. Case in point, 2011’s Friends with Kids, where Fox was part of an ensemble that included Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd and Edward Burns. Fox played Mary Jane, an actress who becomes romantically involved with Scott’s Jason. No spoilers here on what happens with their relationship.

Friends with Kids might not go down in film history as one of the more beloved romantic comedies, but when it came out it did fairly well for itself critically, if not commercially. At the very least, this was an opportunity for people only familiar with Megan Fox through her more visually-stimulating work to see that she could lend her talents to a smaller-scale movie.

The Dictator

To American audiences, Sacha Baron Cohen is arguably best known for starring in the wacky mockumentaries Borat and Bruno, but in 2012, he returned to the big screen in The Dictator, where he played Admiral General Aladeen of the fictional Republic of Wadiya in a purely fictional narrative. Fox plays a fictional version of herself who sleeps with Aladeen and other world leaders in exchange for handsome payment. But she doesn’t do cuddling!

Megan Fox’s appearance in The Dictator is nothing more than a cameo, but at the very least, it showed that she can poke fun at herself. If/when Sacha Baron Cohen leads another movie as one of his ridiculous characters, maybe she can cameo in that as well or obtain a bigger role.

This Is 40

In 2007, Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl starred in Knocked Up, which Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd also appeared in, with the former playing Debbie, the sister of Heigl’s Allison, and the latter playing Pete, Debbie’s husband. Five years later, Rudd and Mann’s characters returned for the semi-sequel/spinoff This is 40, and Megan Fox played Desi, who works for Debbie at her boutique and makes a side living as an escort.

While Knocked Up was met with a lot of positive reviews (though it wasn’t without controversy), This is 40 earned more mixed reception. There was talk of making a sequel, which possibly could have resulted in Megan Fox reprising her character. That sequel never moved forward, but This is 40 still remains an noteworthy example of Fox’s comedy work.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Megan Fox and Michael Bay’s time on the Transformers movie might not have ended well, but the two of them would reunite for the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, which Bay produced. Fox played April O’Neil, the intrepid reporter who accidentally learns about the Turtles during her investigation into the Foot Clan and soon becomes their closest ally on the surface. As alluded to earlier, the Teenage Mutant Turtles first appeared as comic book characters in the mid-1980s, so this movie marked Fox’s second time working on a comic book property.

Megan Fox reprised April O’Neil two years later in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, which saw April meeting Casey Jones, the sports equipment-packing vigilante played by Arrow’s Stephen Amell. While there were plans to make a third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie set in this continuity, a threequel was scrapped due to Out of the Shadows’ mediocre box office return, but at least Fox had two movies where she got to star alongside anthropomorphic giant reptiles. Few others have done that.

New Girl

Up to this point we’ve only covered the movies Megan Fox appeared in post-Transformers franchise, but she also collected some TV work as well. In New Girl Season 5, star Zooey Deschanel had to leave for maternity leave, so her character Jess was written as being called in for a long amount of jury duty. Megan Fox filled in for her during that period as Reagan, a pharmaceutical sales representative who rented out Jess’ room and shook things up among the main characters.

Megan Fox continued recurring as Reagan in New Girl Season 6, but she did not return in the final season. While the New Girl creative team was undoubtedly glad to have Fox fill in while Zooey Deschanel was away, Reagan wasn’t particularly well-received among fans, and her presence served as a reminder that there’s no substitute for the lead character who hooked people in from the start.

Legends Of The Lost With Megan Fox

In addition to acting, Megan Fox has also made a name for herself in the realm of documentary programming. Last December, the first four episodes of her series Legends Of The Lost With Megan Fox, where saw the actress traveling across the globe and learning about ancient history, cultures and myths.

This show received some criticism for how it blended actual history with pseudo-archaeology, and overall it’s earned a mixed reception. It’s unclear if Travel Channel will bring Legends Of The Lost With Megan Fox back for Season 2; if it does return, Fox will have more opportunities to go visit other countries and learn about their history when she’s not acting.

So these are all the major projects that Megan Fox has appeared in since she exited the Transformers franchise, but don’t think she’s slowing down now. She’ll appear later this year in Zeroville and Above The Shadows, and she’s also signed on for Big Gold Brick, which doesn’t have an assigned release date yet, but began production earlier this month.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any major news concerning Megan Fox, but for now, be sure to browse through our 2019 release schedule to plan your trips to the movie theater this year accordingly.

How Much The Live Action Aladdin Could Make Opening Weekend

How Much The Live Action Aladdin Could Make Opening Weekend

One of the pillars of Disney’s absurdly stacked 2019 theatrical slate is the live-action remakes of the studio’s animated classics. The first of this year’s remakes, Dumbo, just hit theaters at the end of March and now we can begin to look ahead at the next one on the docket, May’s Aladdin. Although Dumbo may be an exception, past live-action remakes have proven especially lucrative for Disney. So, will Aladdin too enjoy Cave of Wonders-like riches at the box office?

The early tracking is in for director Guy Ritchie’s remake of the beloved 1992 film and if one of Disney’s wishes was for Aladdin to have a big opening weekend, that wish looks like it may be granted. Opening over the long Memorial Day weekend, Aladdin is tracking at a three-day weekend between $70 million and $95 million and a four-day between $85 million and a huge $115 million according to Box Office Pro.

After Dumbo’s somewhat lackluster debut a couple of weeks back, a big opening for Aladdin could get these live-action remakes back in the win column. Dumbo opened below expectations to $45.9 million, which is on the lower end of Disney’s recent live-action remakes, eclipsing only Pete’s Dragon and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Yet Dumbo faced mixed reviews. Plus, as a remake of a much older film, it doesn’t have quite the same nostalgic potency of something like Aladdin, which hails from the much-heralded Disney Renaissance.

This long-range tracking for the three and four-day weekend is very broad and could see Aladdin swing either way with the result being tens of millions of dollars difference. An opening weekend on the low end of tracking at $70 million would put Aladdin behind only Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book and the absolutely massive Beauty and the Beast, which opened to $174.7 million.

Based on the current tracking, Aladdin definitely wouldn’t take that top spot (The Lion King is coming for that), but it could overperform and surpass The Jungle Book’s $103.2 million opening to snag the third-highest opening weekend for a Disney live-action remake. Either way, it looks like Aladdin should land in the upper echelon of this category.

The original Aladdin opened back in November of 1992 and earned $19.2 million in its first wide weekend and went on to become that year’s biggest film at the box office, with a domestic haul of $217.4 million or $473 million in today’s dollars. That success is indicative of the love for the film and the nostalgic power it has over those who grew up with it. That bodes well for the film, as this tracking suggests.

However, nostalgia is a double-edged sword and the early marketing for Aladdin was met with concern at how Will Smith’s Genie looked, the visuals and the portrayal of Jafar. Following Robin Williams’ iconic performance --even 27 years later -- is no easy thing. The most recent full trailer assuaged some of these concerns, but bringing back Alan Menken to do the music alone may not be enough to win over the most particular of fans.

So it will be interesting to see how the marketing affects this tracking between now and the film’s release. On the competition front, Aladdin opens two weeks after Detective Pikachu and two weeks before The Secret Life of Pets 2, those films being the most obvious competition for the family-friendly dollar.

The Memorial Day weekend is a huge one for moviegoing and although not necessarily competing for the same audience, Aladdin does have some interesting competition opening opposite it. The sci-fi epic Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt opens that weekend, as does the R-rated superhero film Brightburn and the directorial debut of Olivia Wilde, Booksmart. That’s a heck of a lineup, so forget cookouts and go hang out in the theater that weekend.

Aladdin shows us a whole new world when it opens on May 24. Check out our 2019 release schedule to see all of the movies you can look forward to the rest of this year.