Why George R.R. Martin Liked Avengers: Endgame So Much

Why George R.R. Martin Liked Avengers: Endgame So Much

After a long year of waiting, Avengers: Endgame arrived in theaters a few weeks ago, delivering an extremely ambitious blockbuster that was built on the previous 21 MCU releases. Endgame did the impossible, exceeding expectations and providing all the emotional payoffs fans were hoping for. The movie has been met with wild box office numbers and critical acclaim, and now even Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin has weighed in.

The combination of Endgame's release and Game of Thrones' Battle of Winterfell episode kept the fandom on edge for a full week, but George R.R. Martin hasn't spoken much about the show's final season. He did, however, recently revealed that he loved Avengers: Endgame-- and for one specific reason: it wasn't just a mindless action flick. As Martin tells it,

There’s plenty of action here, but this is not just A Big Dumb Action movie, of which there are far too many these days. Stan Lee would have been proud. Could he ever have dreamed that all those characters he and Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko and the rest of the Marvel team created in the early '60s would one day come to dominate global culture? There’s an amazing story for you.

George R.R. Martin knows about balancing action and story, as his A Song of Ice and Fire novels contain both. What's more, Game of Thrones has found a way to properly include both aspects of the fantasy series on the small screen.

George R.R. Martin's Endgame comments come from a recent post on his blog, which he regularly updates to keep in touch with Game of Thrones fans. But rather than discussing the contents of the show's final season on HBO, Martin instead shared his impression of Avengers: Endgame. And it was a glowing review, one that echoed the feelings of the moviegoing public.

Related: The 25 Most Emotional Moments In Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame had a ton of action scenes, spread out among both the second and third acts of the film. But those sequences weren't gratuitous or mindless, they helped move the overall narrative forward. It's this fact that seems to have impressed George R.R. Martin most, as The Russo Brothers crafted a story that was very much character-driven. Especially for the OG members of the team.

Endgame was so emotionally charged because it was deeply connected to the previous movies, and allowed its super powered characters to be vulnerable and utterly flawed. The survivors were left truly shaken by the affects of Thanos' snap, and their grief lasted years. And with actors like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. reaching the end of their contracts, major Avengers were given their endings in the MCU.

As for Game of Thrones, it should be interesting to see what George R.R. Martin is feeling about the divisive final season. The HBO series must wrap up a story that began with Martin released his first novel back in 1996. And the show's narrative choices might not be the same that Martin had in mind for Westeros.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Those '90s Songs In Captain Marvel Are Suddenly Really Popular Again

Those '90s Songs In Captain Marvel Are Suddenly Really Popular Again

When it comes to music in the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy is the one that has the reputation for the most rockin' soundtrack. The cosmic franchise's Awesome Mix of '70s and '80s hits has been massively popular, but it's Captain Marvel that has all the '90s love. The new Marvel film features a soundtrack of '90s tunes and it's clearly leaving a big impact on audiences because all of these songs combined jumped 464% in downloads.

Captain Marvel is the newest MCU film and follows Brie Larson's Carol Danvers as she tries to discover her past while stuck in the middle of a war between two alien races. The film is set in the '90s and contains several memorable throwbacks to the decade, such as Blockbuster and dial-up internet.

To help keep everyone in the spirit of the '90s, the film's soundtrack includes hits from bands like Nirvana, No Doubt, and Elastica. It's a nostalgic throwback that has the millions of people who have seen the superhero movie in the '90s mood, because these songs have skyrocketed in downloads and streams since the the movie premiered on March 8.

Captain Marvel features 13 rock, pop, and rap songs on its soundtrack. Combined, they collected a 464% gain in sales in the U.S. in the four days after Captain Marvel released in theaters, according to Nielsen Reports (via Billboard). That means that combined, the songs were downloaded 9,000 times -- compared to 2,000 just four days before March 6.

Apparently, The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman," which Nick Fury sings for all of five seconds, is included in this measurement.

For those curious which song was the highest-seller from the soundtrack, that title goes to "Celebrity Skin" by Hole. The song jumped 2,222% in sales to nearly 2,000 downloads during the tracking span. Other songs that saw over 1,000 downloads include Garbage’s “Only Happy When It Rains” (up 1,351%), No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” (up 720%), and Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” (up 371%).

Of course, we can't forget to look at streaming, and the 13 songs saw some notable gains in that area. Collectively, the soundtrack saw a 43% gain, which equates to 4.09 million streams on March 7-10. Comparatively, the collected songs had 2.85 million from March 3-6.

Never underestimate the power of a good throwback! The soundtrack is clearly playing well with people and now it makes me curious if the inevitable Captain Marvel 2 will continue the trend and feature more '90s songs. If the sequel takes place in space or the present day, it probably wouldn't make too much sense.

You can listen to this rippin' soundtrack in Captain Marvel, which is in theaters everywhere. For everything else hitting theaters this year, check out our 2019 movie release guide.

How Michael Dougherty Came Up With Those Godzilla: King Of The Monsters End Credit Scenes

How Michael Dougherty Came Up With Those Godzilla: King Of The Monsters End Credit Scenes

Spoiler Warning: We dish on the ending of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Come back after you've seen the movie!

Fans of monster movies were treated to Godzilla: King of the Monsters this weekend. Like many blockbusters these days, King of the Monsters has two end-credits scenes for fans to enjoy. The first one plays out over the credits, in which a montage of news headlines hit the screen, teasing the aftermath of Godzilla's battle with King Ghidorah. It's an interesting way to convey information, and director Michael Dougherty told CinemaBlend that it was an idea that came up to show audiences that everything was still okay after the movie.

In King of the Monsters, Godzilla goes head-to-head against King Ghidorah, a rival apex predator seeking to control all the other Titans in the world. This shouldn't be a shocker, but Godzilla takes back his throne. To make sure that audiences knew that Godzilla wasn't going to just wreck shop with all his Titan pals now, Michael Dougherty used "headlines of the day" to tease how the world is reacting to the aftermath.

Here's what director Michael Dougherty told CinemaBlend Senior Video Producer Jeff McCobb in an exclusive video interview:

No, I think that idea came during post-production. The idea that it would be nice to just give us a slight glimpse into what the aftermath of that ending was. And also just to calm any fears that it means we're entering some kind of post-apocalyptic monster-dominated world. That's not the case. You know, with Godzilla returning to his place on the throne, I really like the idea that he would sort of keep things at a proper balance.

The headlines in question reveal that Godzilla is a benevolent king. While some of these headlines are blink-and-you-miss-them, the general sense is that the world is recovering in the aftermath of Godzilla's showdown with Ghidorah. In fact, some parts of the world are thriving, but I won't reveal any specifics as to why. You'll just have to see the movie!

Also, here's a friendly reminder to stick around until the end of the credits. There's a post-credits scene that you probably don't want to miss.

If you'd like to hear these words from Michael Dougherty himself, check out our exclusive interview with the director and actor Ken Watanabe in the video below.

Critics have been ragging pretty hard on Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but if you like giant monsters and really rad fights, then you don't want to miss this movie. The film is currently in theaters, so check it out when you can! For all of the other big movies that will be hitting theaters in the near future, be sure to take a look at our 2019 movie release guide.

How Shazam!'s CinemaScore Compares To Other DCEU Movies

How Shazam!'s CinemaScore Compares To Other DCEU Movies

Happy Shazam! weekend, everybody. Zachary Levi's superhero movie can stand on its own, but technically it is the seventh movie in the DC Extended Universe. When you're in a "universe," you get compared to your predecessors and successors. That's true for box office -- and we'll get those opening weekend numbers tomorrow (Sunday 4/7) -- but also for critical and fan reactions. One metric I'm always curious to see is the CinemaScore, since it polls moviegoers on opening night.

If you see a movie opening night, you're usually pretty eager for it, which can lend itself to a more positive-than-usual reaction -- unless you're disappointed, and then the fall from high expectations can be rough. The new April 5th movies now have fresh CinemaScores out -- and while Pet Sematary is sitting with a disappointing C+, Shazam! is enjoying an A.

That A for Shazam! sits next to its 92% Rotten Tomatoes score from 257 reviews from critics, and a 90% audience score from 2,429 user ratings.

Sticking with CinemaScores, let's see how Shazam! compares to the other DCEU movies, listed in order of release:

Man of Steel (2013) - CinemaScore: A-

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Cinemascore: B

Suicide Squad (2016) - CinemaScore: B+

Wonder Woman (2017) - CinemaScore: A

Justice League (2017) - CinemaScore: B+

Aquaman (2018) - CinemaScore: A-

Shazam! (2019) - CinemaScore: A

Are you surprised that Shazam! and Wonder Woman both got the top A grades? Not surprised at all? Aquaman and Man of Steel tied, any surprises there? That one does kind of surprise me. The box office certainly preferred Aquaman, but opening night moviegoers were just as fond of Henry Cavill's debut as Superman.

Batman v Superman got the lowest score with a B, which isn't that low, except it is pretty low for opening night superheroes. That was probably an expectation fall -- people walking in with high hopes and then not quite getting what they wanted. Again, though, this is just a selection of polled fans who saw the movies opening night. They may not be DC superfans, they could've just been excited for that weekend's new blockbuster. Justice League got a B+, despite the continued debate over Zack Snyder's vision as director before Joss Whedon showed up for reshoots.

Feel free to look up any other movies you want to use for comparison -- if you want to stay in the DC Comics world, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy movies all got As. In the Marvel Comics world, Captain Marvel has an A, Avengers: Infinity War also got an A. Marvel's The Avengers actually got an A+ back in 2012. That might've been another expectation reaction -- not expecting that much and being completely wowed. (I bet the shawarma scene nailed it.)

Shazam! is in a unique position in that it does feel like its own thing, with just a few connections to the larger DC world. However, it seems like just the latest win following the billion dollar success of Aquaman. It may not make that kind of money, but it's already beating expectations at the box office.

Next up we have Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984 in 2020, followed by The Batman and The Suicide Squad in 2021, and then ... maybe The Flash movie? ... and then probably Aquaman 2, plus the million other movies in development that will have to fight their way to the top.

Shazam! is now in theaters. What would you grade it? Vote below...

Is The New Mutants Being Delayed Again?

Is The New Mutants Being Delayed Again?

The New Mutants has had a rough go on the way to being released, with so many factors and obstacles getting in the way of telling this horror tinged tale adjacent to the X-Men universe. And just as we’d gotten used to the idea that there was a countdown to an actual release of director Josh Boone’s superhero horror-show, new rumors speculate that the film is, yet again, suspected to be bumped to a later release date.

A supposed source at Fox says that The New Mutants isn’t going to make its currently specified August 2 release date. This comes after the film was already moved from its original home of April 13, 2018 to the seemingly more comfortable February 22, 2019. Now it looks as if there’s going to be another hunt for prime calendar real estate, as two factors have apparently delayed director Josh Boone’s motion picture for the time being.

Those two factors are the old fashioned pairing of Disney and Fox’s merger putting a hold on any big releasing decisions until their union was complete, as well as the non-existent reshoots that were supposed to have reshaped The New Mutants into release-worthy form.

While we’ve seen Disney start to make decisions about Fox projects recently, choices that have left films like Mouse Guard out in the cold, that new footage is still lingering unfilmed. Whether it’s due to scheduling or creative differences, no one knows at this point, but it’s a crucial enough stumbling block that The New Mutants might not be seen for some time now.

Fox’s unknown source spoke with genre news site iHorror and said that while there isn’t a new release date in the works, it’ll be “far away from August.” So if you were hoping that 2019 would still see two mutant powered hits coming our way, those odds just reduced dramatically. How far away from The New Mutants’ initial release date is far enough isn’t known, but the invocation of that very phrase is enough to assume that this calendar year is probably off the table. That is, unless Disney and Fox plan to do some sort of stealth drop onto a streaming platform as previously rumored, which honestly wouldn’t be such a bad idea at this point.

Fate has not been kind to The New Mutants, and should this rumor pan out, it will be another sling and arrow of misfortune sent the way of that particular film. Though, should Dark Phoenix effectively rekindle the fire between the moviegoing public and the X-Men franchise, there could be a push to get the film out, in one form or another, by the end of 2019.

The New Mutants, unless someone comes forth in the next couple of days and corrects the assumption, is slated for release on August 2. Should that change and a new date be announced for some point within the year, we’ll not only report back, but we’ll update the 2019 release schedule to reflect the project’s new status.

The Batman’s First Two Villains Have Reportedly Been Revealed

The Batman’s First Two Villains Have Reportedly Been Revealed

Last night, the news broke that Robert Pattinson, at the bare minimum, is one of the top contenders to play Batman next on the big screen, if not close to signing a deal. We’ll have to wait and see if Pattinson does indeed end up leading The Batman or if the eponymous role will go to someone like Nicholas Hoult, but for now, some news about Batman’s rogues gallery in the upcoming DC Extended Universe movie has come out. Get ready for some Batman Returns déjà vu, because evidently Penguin and Catwoman will be among the film’s baddies.

To be up front, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Penguin, real name Oswald Cobblepot, will appear in The Batman. Last summer, it was reported that both the Caped Crusader’s next movie and Birds of Prey were considering using the beak-nosed umbrella enthusiast. Since then, it’s been revealed that Birds of Prey is using Roman Sionis, a.k.a. Black Mask, as its main antagonist, and he’ll be accompanied by Victor Zsasz. Then in January, word came in that Penguin would indeed show up in The Batman, although this hasn’t been officially confirmed.

However, THR did reveal today that “another purrfect character” will appear in The Batman. Granted, while Catwoman isn’t technically outright named, unless director/writer Matt Reeves is wanting to give the significantly lesser-known Batman baddie-turned-anti-hero Catman his time to shine, then we can reasonably assume this is Selina Kyle who’s being talked about.

Penguin and Catwoman have been part of The Batman mythos since almost the very beginning, although nowadays the latter is frequently depicted as an anti-hero who is still the Dark Knight’s most recurring love interest. The characters, played by Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer, respectively, famously teamed up in 1992’s Batman Returns, and while that movie remains Penguin’s last live action theatrical appearance thus far, Catwoman was played in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises by Anne Hathaway. Penguin and Catwoman were also recently main characters on the TV series Gotham, played by Robin Lord Taylor and Camren Bicondova, respectively.

It’s also worth noting that it doesn’t look like Penguin and Catwoman will be the only villains to appear in The Batman. Matt Reeves has previously said that the movie will feature a “rogues gallery,” and THR has heard from a source that as many as six bad guys could show up, with Collider hearing rumors that Riddler could be part of this group.

Aside from the 1966 Batman movie, which saw Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman teaming up, the live action Batman movies have never exceeded having three villains per story (not including organized crime figures), so to potentially see half a dozen colorful baddies show up is intriguing. Hopefully this doesn’t result in the story being weighed down by so many people, but Spider-Man: Homecoming did prove you can have a collection of supporting and minor villains who don’t take away from the menace of the main threat.

No specific story details for The Batman have been revealed yet other than Matt Reeves saying it will be a noir-driven tale that highlights Bruce Wayne’s detective skills. And while the actor who plays Batman next, whether it’s Robert Pattinson or someone else, will be younger than Ben Affleck’s iteration, this movie will not be an origin story.

The Batman is scheduled to begin production within a year and will hit theaters on June 25, 2021. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage, and if you’re wondering what else is coming down the DCEU pipeline, look through our comprehensive guide.

Sylvester Stallone Compares Rocky's Grandson To Adrian In Sweet Photo

Sylvester Stallone Compares Rocky's Grandson To Adrian In Sweet Photo

Warning: SPOILERS For Creed II Ahead!

One of the ways in which Creed II expands on the four-decade Rocky saga is that it makes Rocky a grandfather. At the end of the film, Rocky visits his estranged son Robert (Rocky Jr.) and he meets his grandson Logan. It’s a heartwarming moment in its own right, but Sylvester Stallone has made it extra poignant by sharing a photo of Rocky and Logan together and comparing the tyke to Rocky’s love Adrian. Take a look:

They may not actually be related but Sly is right that Logan Balboa, played by Robbie Johns in Creed II, does look a bit like Adrian. Especially in the eyes and with the smile, the young actor looks like Talia Shire’s character from the early Rocky films, who would be his in-universe grandmother. Rocky even mentions this to Rocky Jr. in Creed II, with his son responding, “Yeah, I know.”

It is clear that the casting director did a solid job with finding a child actor who looked like he could belong to the Balboa family, even though he only appears briefly in the film. Although Logan definitely seems to favor his father and grandmother more than Rocky himself, something I think Rocky would prefer.

In addition to just being a sweet sentiment, Sylvester Stallone’s Instagram post shows how emotionally layered the end of Rocky’s story is in Creed II. At the end of the film, after waffling over calling his son and bridging the gulf that had widened between them over the years, Rocky shows up on Rocky Jr.’s doorstep. There he sees his son, once again played by Rocky Balboa and This is Us’s Milo Ventimiglia in a surprising cameo, and he meets his grandson for the first time.

This moment has weight not only because it represents that wounds are beginning to heal and gives Rocky a happy ending, but because Rocky’s son and now his grandson couldn’t have existed without Adrian. The loss of Adrian, Rocky’s great love, has hung over the modern Rocky films from Rocky Balboa onward, imbuing Rocky with a constant sense of longing and melancholy.

When Rocky met Logan, he was not only seeing his grandson, he was also seeing something of his dear, departed Adrian, telling Logan he looked like her. He then begins to tear up. It is both very sad, but also beautiful and joyous, signaling that although Adrian is gone, she lives on in this new life and Rocky can find happiness in the world without her.

It’s really the perfect ending for the character, and this ending might actually stick because Sylvester Stallone has said that he is done playing Rocky.

While, we'll see if he holds true to his word on playing Rocky, another iconic character that Sly will soon be done with is John Rambo. The actor returns to the role in Rambo V: Last Blood on September 20. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the movies headed to theaters this year.