Spider-Man: Far From Home Wants Nick Fury To Be The Anti-Tony Stark

Spider-Man: Far From Home Wants Nick Fury To Be The Anti-Tony Stark

When Marvel Studios officially brought the character of Spider-Man (Tom Holland) over to the MCU, they immediately paired the teenage superhero with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) as a portal into the world and also a mentor. That relationship, which started in Captain America: Civil War, grew throughout Spider-Man: Homecoming… especially when Tony had to save Spidey’s ass on the State Island Ferry. And it took a tragic turn in Avengers: Infinity War, when Tony failed to save Peter from the Snap.

The MCU doesn’t have Tony Stark anymore, but Spider-Man will still have help in his next adventure, Spider-Man: Far From Home. As you guys likely saw in the trailers, Samuel L. Jackson will bring Nick Fury across the “pond” to hijack Peter Parker’s European vacation, and recruit Spider-Man in his battle against the Elementals, dangerous creatures from another universe.

CinemaBlend got the opportunity to visit the set of Spider-Man: Far From Home and interview director Jon Watts, and we learned that he wants Fury in this story to be the complete opposite of what Tony was to Peter in Homecoming. Watts said:

I always wanted to put our idealistic teenage hero Peter Parker against a jaded, world-weary super spy like Nick Fury. I always thought that would be such a great combination of conflict and relationship to explore. That was something that was in my very, very, very first pitch, and my very first meeting at Marvel. I was like, ‘I want to see this kid go up against this bad motherfucker.’ You know? And Tony Stark is like the cool, supportive rich uncle. Nick Fury is more like the mean, new stepdad. And I just thought it would be really fun to see those two worlds collide.

When Nick Fury approaches Spider-Man to help him on this mission, Peter initially refuses. He asks if Thor (Chris Hemsworth) or Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) might be better fits, as Peter still sees himself as that friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man.

But Fury is putting together a team to fight the Elementals, and it will include Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who appears to be from a multiverse Earth.

While visiting the set, we spent time with Executive Producer Eric Carroll, who elaborated on the decision to bring Nick Fury into Spider-Man’s corner of the MCU, and how Fury will fit. He told us:

One of the themes we wanted to play with was youth. It's the timeless theme of these coming-of-age movies. Why do adults operate in the grey? Spider-Man is like, ‘This is easy. Let's just do the right thing.’ Or, ‘Let's just tell people what's going on and everyone will be okay.’ And Nick Fury's like, ‘That's not how the world works, kid.’ So, [Peter] just gets wrapped up in this sort of spy adventure, being driven by Fury and getting more and more caught between how he wants to operate and how he's being told he should operate.

This led to a big question on the set: Who is Nick Fury working for? S.H.I.E.L.D. is a complicated organization, and Fury has been off the grid for some time. Eric Carroll didn’t address the situation directly, but instead told us:

Nick's still doing what he does -- operating out of the shadows. I think he probably gets some funding from his buddy Tony [Stark], and stuff like that, to keep up this thing. There's even a line in the movie where he's kind of like, ‘Any other interesting case files come in?’ So it sort of seems like he's just trying to keep the planet safe in the way he does, which is looking out for these sort of extra-normal events. And making sure he and whatever team he puts together is there when the... you know.

He likely has a direct connection to all surviving Marvel heroes, and that would include Captain Marvel. But for this mission, he wants Spider-Man, whether Spider-Man wants it or not.

Take a look at the teaming of Peter Parker and Nick Fury in the latest Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer:

We will have even more from our set visit to Spider-Man: Far From Home. The movie hits theaters on July 2. Are you planning on checking it out?

Is Shazam! OK For Kids?

Is Shazam! OK For Kids?

The following contains some minor SPOILERS for Shazam!

For a long time, comic books were viewed as a medium geared toward kids, but the movies based on them certainly have not been. While most aren’t as mature as Deadpool or Logan, you probably still don’t want to take really little ones to watch their favorite heroes turn to dust in Avengers: Infinity War. That was mentally scarring even for some of the grown-ups.

Part of the appeal of Shazam! as a character is that the hero is actually a young kid who gains superpowers. Even when Shazam looks like Zachary Levi, he's still mentally the same kid. You might think that this means the movie is more accessible for younger children than some of the other recent films of the genre, and while that’s largely true, there are a few elements that parents are going to want to be aware of before taking kids to see this one.

Shazam! is absolutely a movie that many kids can enjoy and it will probably work for a wider cross section of the younger audience than most superhero movies. However, the important distinction is that while Shazam! is largely going to be ok for kids, if you have the impression that Shazam! is for kids, we should clear that up right now.

As with every superhero movie, there is a lot of action that comes from the hero. Shazam and the villain Doctor Sivana fight each other in multiple bombastic, over-the-top sequences. While bodies go through walls and get hit by cars, the action is almost entirely bloodless, as is standard for PG-13 superhero movies. Shazam gets a bit of blood around his nose after being punched in the face by the supervillain, as a way to show the bad guy is actually capable of hurting the otherwise invulnerable hero.

However, while a lot of the action is what you're likely familiar with, the movie isn't without darker, and potentially scarier, elements. The film actually opens with a fairly visceral car wreck. One of the passengers is shown to be seriously injured and their ultimate fate isn't revealed until later in the movie.

In addition, Mark Strong’s villain Doctor Sivana works alongside physical manifestations of the Seven Deadly Sins. They are represented as a collection of monstrous creatures with demonic faces. Young children might be truly terrified by these monsters. The recent character Venom comes to mind as a comparison, probably because one of the monsters has an incredibly long tongue that's meant to creep you out, and many of the creatures have some disturbing teeth as well. This image isn't quite what you get from the Sins, but it's close. If the picture below is too disturbing for your child, then a few parts of Shazam! might be as well.

However, beyond what the creatures look like, what they do is equally disturbing, The Sins kill an entire conference room full of people at one point. One victim is thrown from a window dozens of stories in the air, and we watch the body go falling out of sight. We see several others get killed by the creatures from the other side of a translucent wall. Their bodes are thrown up against the wall and we hear them screaming. Again, there's no blood, but what's happening to them is being made perfectly clear.

I’m not sure if the way we see these characters die is inherently any more violent than characters in other superhero movies, but the juxtaposition feels far greater because so much of the rest of the film is silly fun. These potentially scary moments feel that much more violent because you didn't see them coming. I could certainly see some kids hiding their faces to avoid seeing some of this. Shazam! director David F. Sandberg compares the scares and the violence to the original Jurassic Park, and that's probably a fair comparison. If the viewer can handle watching a dinosaur eat somebody, as well as the tension of velociraptors stalking children, then they can handle Shazam!'s darker moments.

Beyond the violence, there are a few other elements parents should be aware of. Shazam! is a funny movie, and while most of the humor is perfect for kids, some of that humor, as is often the case with young teenagers, is sexual in nature. During the sequence when Billy Batson is first testing his grown-up body, he uses his new adult look to get by the doorman at a strip club. He comes out with chicken wings, but all his friend Freddy wants to know is what he saw inside. The same location makes a second appearance later in the film as well and several kids end up inside the club. The camera never goes inside the building either time, so we never see anything, but references to what can be seen are certainly made. Freddy takes his time exiting in the latter sequence. Somehow he ended up with some glitter on his face.

Another scene played for laughs sees our two main characters purchase beer at a convenient store, since Zachary Levi clearly looks older than 21. For what it’s worth, both characters take one sip of the beer, spit it out because they think it tastes awful and go back to buy soda, energy drinks and junk food.

Finally, we have the question of language. As a PG-13 movie, Shazam! is allowed to use profanity in a limited fashion and it certainly does. A few characters do use profanity but it is primarily, if not entirely, the adult characters (I don't recall hearing the teen or child characters using words they should not), who tend to use it to punctuate lines of dialogue at highly emotional moments. The movie never uses any F-bombs, although one minor character does break into a profanity laced diatribe near the end of the movie that clearly would include the F-word if you could hear it. Because the scene takes place as part of a television news broadcast inside the movie, everything gets bleeped.

Everybody's kids are different, and so how much any of these issues are actually problems will certainly not be the same across the board. Still, it's best to go in knowing what you're going to get.

Now There Are Petitions To Pull Game Of Thrones Showrunners From Star Wars Movie

Now There Are Petitions To Pull Game Of Thrones Showrunners From Star Wars Movie

You could start a petition to end petitions, but if it's as successful as any of the other recent petitions, I'd say don't bother. Game of Thrones critics launched a petition to remake Season 8 with "competent writers," a clear shot at showrunners/writers David Benioff and Dan Weiss. That petition has more than 1.5 million signatures and counting, even though Game of Thrones is now over and HBO has no intention of remaking anything.

Fans are signing to make the point. And now some of the same fans may be making the same point for Star Wars.

While Game of Thrones' controversial final season was airing, Disney boss Bob Iger confirmed the next Star Wars movie after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker would be from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. That was great news to Rian Johnson critics, but bad news to D&D critics. (Everyone's a critic!)

Since petitions are the new normal -- and more about gathering like-minded people to vent shared frustrations rather than an actual expectation for change -- you can now find several petitions to stop the Game of Thrones showrunners from making the next Star Wars film. Some of the petitions may be competing with each other for attention -- I see at least two over at Change.org, one has nearly 11,000 signatures and the other only 616 so far -- and nobody has picked up viral steam at this point. I was minding my own business when Care2 sent me an email about a fan's new petition specifically to Disney CEO Bob Igner, asking Disney to choose someone else to do the next Star Wars movie. So far, that petition has close to 5,000 signatures.

Most petitions don't get the attention of that Game of Thrones one. Even the one to Disney to rehire James Gunn, which you could consider to be a success even if it didn't play a direct role in his rehiring, didn't have THIS many signatures. You have to admit the timing is a bit awkward for that incredibly popular petition to be followed by the Star Wars movie announcement. Then again, with the GoT showrunners and Rian Johnson in contention for the next Star Wars movie, there was no Option B -- the choice was going to be controversial. At least Rian Johnson critics are happy with the choice of D&D for the next Star Wars movie. They seem to have few major complaints about the final season of Game of Thrones vs. the continued airing of grievances over Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

There's a 0.0% chance fans won't have major criticisms on how Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ends the Skywalker Saga. The more people care about something, the more passionate the pro and con reactions. It's actually kind of amazing there wasn't more criticism for Avengers: Endgame. Not to say fans didn't speak up, and some are still debating the logistics of the time travel elements, but there was no massive backlash. Usually something so popular has a correlating backlash to balance, at least these days, but it's rare and wonderful when the majority of fans are content.

As the sun now stands, we don't know if David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are making all three Star Wars movies that were recently scheduled, or just the first one. It could be those dates are being held for their potential trilogy. Or their movie could still be followed by something from Rian Johnson. Nothing has been confirmed on that front yet, and there's a lot of time for things to move around the schedule.

In the meantime, the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, is set to debut on Disney+ in November, followed by Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker in theaters in December. Keep up with all of the Star Wars release dates with our handy guide.

How The Transformers Writers Room Led To The Creation Of Bumblebee

How The Transformers Writers Room Led To The Creation Of Bumblebee

At the end of last year, Bumblebee emerged as one of the big surprise blockbusters of the year. While Transformers movies of the past didn’t fare all that well when it came to approval from critics, the Travis Knight film upended that trend, and seduced both writers and audiences with an effortless charm, wonderful heart, and excellent characters. It could wind up influencing the entire future of the franchise, and it all started with screenwriter Christina Hodson’s involvement with the establishment of a specialized writers’ room about four years ago.

Paramount and Hasbro made headlines back in the summer of 2015 when they announced that they were putting together a team of filmmakers who would work together to establish a short term and long term future for the Transformers franchise. Spearheaded by Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), the room included a number of talented established and up-and-coming talents, including The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman and Black Hawk Down screenwriter Ken Nolan (who went on to eventually write Transformers: The Last Knight). Having recently had her script The Eden Project included on the Black List, Christina Hodson was invited to participate, and in her own words it was a bit of a surprise:

I got the call kind of out of nowhere to join the Transformers writer's room. It was one of the first feature writers’ rooms out there; I know there have been a lot since. And it was really an amazing experience. It was 12 of us in a room for three weeks. The first week was kind of focused on learning about the franchise, and learning about the history of the movies, but also the cartoons, and comics, and the franchise as a whole. And then it was about all of us kind of figuring out what story we would want to tell within that universe.

With Bumblebee hitting the home video market, I recently jumped on the phone with Christina Hodson to talk about her experiences making the blockbuster, and our conversation started at the very beginning with how she got involved with the project. It apparently began with a form of Transformers school where she received a full education on what the robots in disguise are all about, and then things eventually opened up to allow the individuals and writing pairs to start workshopping the stories that they would like to tell within the context of the franchise.

As far as creative environments go, Christina Hodson acknowledged that it was a boon for her process, even though her colleagues were developing potentially very different approaches:

We each kind of narrowed in on our own little corner, our own little story that we wanted to tell. And it was just about supporting each other and workshopping things together. We each had our own thing, but we would take care of each other and help each other.

As for Christina Hodson’s “little story,” she had a base idea of what she wanted to do, but didn’t have the details or the full scope of it all in mind. As it happened, Paramount and Hasbro had been mulling the idea of a Bumblebee spin-off in the months prior to the organization of the Transformers writers’ room, and it was with that part of the brand that Hodson’s pitch wonderfully dovetailed. And given that she was a massive fan of the yellow robot, this was news that basically had her ready to jump up and down. She explained,

I went into that room knowing I wanted to tell 'One girl and one robot.' I had a vague notion of what I wanted to do. I didn't know I was going to be allowed to make that character Bumblebee. I really wanted to, because he's always been my favorite. And when it became clear that I was going to get to be able to play with that character I was over the moon.

Through the work with the other writers, what would be developed as the Bumblebee pitch started to take real form and develop – with it adding details like becoming a period story set in the 1980s. And while it apparently took a minute for the studio and producing partners to figure out exactly what they wanted, and how they wanted to invest their money, Christina Hodson eventually got the call.

When I asked her about what the Transformers writers’ room added to the development of the script, she acknowledged the support and feedback she received from her fellow filmmakers, saying,

It was more about having a sounding board, and having a room of fantastic and excited and passionate minds to kind of get things to sound things out with. I left that room with a pitch that the producers and Paramount and Hasbro and everyone seemed to get excited about. And they called me several months later and said, 'That the one we want to send to script.' So I got to then write the script based off of that. And the first draft of the script is very, very close to the initial pitch.

According to reports, that first draft of the script arrived in late 2016 – though at that time there was thought about the feature being made as a summer 2018 release. Travis Knight came on board in March 2017 to helm Bumblebee as his first live action feature, filming began about four months later, and the rest is history.

By the time it was done with its global theatrical run, the film - starring Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Pamela Adlon, Jason Drucker, and John Ortiz – made $465.2 million, and now fans can continue to enjoy it in the comforts of their own home. Not only is Bumblebee available now for digital purchase and download, but 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD copies will be hitting stores this Tuesday, April 2nd. Pick up a copy, give it a watch, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interview with Christina Hodson.

Yes, John Travolta Shaved His Head, Says Pitbull Had Him Do It

Yes, John Travolta Shaved His Head, Says Pitbull Had Him Do It

For someone who’s been known for a head of hair that could make the world swoon, actor John Travolta’s decision to go with a cleanly shaven head came as a bit of a surprise. Sure, he’d previously shaved for a film role, which helped soften the blow a bit, but when he decided to go full-time with the new do, it shocked quite a few folks.

In Travolta’s own words, the shaved head look all came down to one person convincing him that bald was the only way to go. And that person was Mr. 305 himself, Pitbull. The story came from John Travolta himself, who explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live!:

I did a movie called From Paris, With Love where I shaved it. So I got used to it, some people got used to it. It wasn’t a total shock. I became friends with Pitbull, and I loved how it [looked.] All us guys gotta stick together that do this.

In case you were wondering how John Travolta looks with his new bald statement to the world, you can see the evidence for yourself below.

As you can see, not only does Travolta seem extremely comfortable with this look, but it’s not a bad look for him to have in general. Though it’s still hard not to think back to the various hairstyles that John Travolta has flaunted in his decades of acting in Hollywood movies and TV projects.

Who can forget his early career locks in projects like Welcome Back, Kotter, or even his look as Danny Zuko in the film adaptation of the hit musical Grease? Even with shorter, less flowing hair, like in the era of Look Who’s Talking or Face/Off, John Travolta has always had an impressive mane for fans of his to behold. But his new bald look draws an even sharper contrast to those classic looks that we've provided below for a contrast.

So you can forgive those who may have been shocked once he first went bald in From Paris, With Love, back in 2010; but by now the world has had time to adjust. But then again, how can you not get behind this lifestyle change after learning that Pitbull was the one to inspire it?

If Pitbull, a man who is famous for making bald look good, thinks that John Travolta, a man who’s been known for his hair for his whole career, looks good bald; then that’s pretty much all of the approval a person could need in the eyes of the law. You can see Travolta, and his daughter Ella Bleu, talking about this recent adjustment in their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, with special guest host Lena Waithe, in the video below:

If Pitbull can sway John Travolta into becoming bald, who’s next? For all we know, these two could be the beginning of a hairless super team that’ll take Hollywood by storm. We could be hyping this up for nothing, but if we see Richard Gere taking the bald route in the near future, then you know it’s serious.

John Travolta can be seen acting alongside Ella Bleu in The Poison Rose, which is currently in limited theatrical release; as well as in The Fanatic (previously known as Moose which is slated for release this September.

Sylvester Stallone Says Rambo 5 Caused 'A Lot Of Damage' To His Body During Filming

Sylvester Stallone Says Rambo 5 Caused 'A Lot Of Damage' To His Body During Filming

Legendary cinematic soldier John Rambo is equally as lethal whether he is wielding a knife, a bow and arrow, a gun or his bare hands, and he has used those skills to rack up a triple-digit kill count. Being that much of a badass is hard work though and it takes a toll, even on someone as rugged and fit as Sylvester Stallone. The actor recently spoke about the physical cost of Rambo 5: Last Blood, saying:

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the gym because I’ve been out there doing Rambo, which caused a lot of damage. So now I’ve got to fix things.

In his Instagram video, Sylvester Stallone was back in the gym after taking a hiatus from pumping iron to film Rambo 5: Last Blood. Rambo is a physically taxing role. By the sound of it, that last ride as the Vietnam War veteran was not an easy one, and it took a major physical toll on the 72-year-old actor's body. Just hearing the emphasis he puts on ‘damage’ implies that Sly really took a beating making this movie.

It may be easy to lose sight of the physically challenging nature of the Rambo role, and the fact that, despite his youthful energy and exuberance, Sylvester Stallone is not the same actor who was in his 30s when he filmed First Blood in 1982. You don’t bounce back quite as quickly when you’re older. In many ways, that makes his return to the Rambo franchise all the more impressive.

So after having his body broken down during filming, Sylvester Stallone is doing something about it. Rambo 5: Last Blood has wrapped filming and the actor is back in the gym working out again and building his body back up, knowing that weight training is one of the best things for injury prevention. Check out the video below to see Sly espouse his admirable and motivating ethos:

Sylvester Stallone is banged up and knows that it would be easier to just chill out and relax. It takes an a great amount of will to do what you should do and not what’s easy, and that’s what he is talking about here: advocating for the importance of self-motivation and constant self-improvement. No wonder Adonis Creed sought out Rocky, he’s a hell of coach.

Given the damage he says he took on Rambo 5: Last Blood, it’s probably a good thing that Sylvester Stallone is closing the chapter on this character as well as his time as Rocky Balboa. Still though, in a way it adds a layer of realism to Last Blood. Like Sly, Rambo is not young and war is a young man’s game that he will still have to wage to rescue his friend’s daughter in the film. The old soldier going in to battle one last time has something of an Old Man Logan/Unforgiven vibe to it.

Rambo 5: Last Blood opens in theaters on September 20. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of all of this year’s biggest movies.

Gal Gadot Celebrated Zachary Levi's Shazam! Opening In The Cutest Way

Gal Gadot Celebrated Zachary Levi's Shazam! Opening In The Cutest Way

Charismatic and endearing Gal Gadot charmed the world with DC's Wonder Woman and now she's congratulating charismatic and endearing Zachary Levi for doing the same with DC's Shazam! Levi officially joins the DCEU with Shazam!, which just opened this weekend. Unlike with, say, Jason Momoa's Aquaman, Zachary Levi didn't first appear as Shazam in a previous DC movie. So Gadot took a moment to welcome Levi to the DCEU, and she did it in the most adorable way:

How stinkin' cute is that? I love that Gal Gadot was on top of some mountain but still had Wonder Woman and Shazam action figures to pose in the snow. A true goddess at work.

The love between superhero stars is a beautiful thing. Jason Momoa literally stood up to a Henry Cavill hater when that non-fan had words about Superman. When Aquaman came out, Henry Cavill returned the love with his own hilarious post.

It's not clear what Henry Cavill's true Superman status is in the DCEU at this point, but we know Ben Affleck is definitely out as Batman. Gal Gadot is definitely coming back as Diana Prince in Wonder Woman 1984. Gadot already finished filming that movie, and she had a fantastic time making it. Wonder Woman's sequel was once again directed by Patty Jenkins. It co-stars Kristen Wiig as Barbara Ann Minerva/Cheetah and also manages to bring back Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Jenkins has said she already has plans for Wonder Woman 3, whether she gets to make the film or not.

Shazam! and Wonder Woman both have A CinemaScores from polled moviegoers, the highest grades for the DCEU to date. Shazam!'s opening of $53.4 million isn't quite in line with the other DCEU movies, but nobody expected it to be. Overall, it still feels like a breath of fresh air for the franchise.

Zachary Levi has fielded a lot of praise for his role as the adult superhero version of Billy Batson in Shazam! He has been replying to a lot of the fans -- famous and non-famous -- as he, his fellow cast members, and director David F. Sandberg bask in this moment.

There's already talk of Shazam! getting a sequel, which may move forward very quickly. Warner Bros. is reportedly not focusing as much on the share universe -- after the billion dollar success of Aquaman and frustrations of Justice League. Instead, WB plans to let the individual film directors tell their own superhero stories.

Next up, the DCEU has Birds of Prey, starring Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, which is scheduled to open February 7, 2020. Then Wonder Woman 1984 arrives June 5, 2020. Keep up with all things DCEU with our guide, and keep up with everything heading to theaters in 2019 with our movie release date schedule.