How John Wick 3 Set Up A Possible Spinoff

How John Wick 3 Set Up A Possible Spinoff

Very minor John Wick 3 spoilers ahead. Don't shoot the messenger.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum just had a -- wait for it -- killer opening weekend at the box office. That's important for world-building reasons. It not only makes another sequel more likely, it bodes well for The Continental TV series that's still in development at Starz and the spinoff movie that was discussed two years ago.

Do you remember that spinoff movie?

Back in 2017, it was announced that the John Wick franchise might be getting a spinoff movie called Ballerina. The script was being written by Shay Hatten, who is also credited as one of the writers of Parabellum. The story was said to follow a young woman raised as an assassin who must hunt down the other assassins that murdered her family. It was described, at the time, as being akin to La Femme Nikita, but with a "more pulpy, hyper-stylized bent a la Quentin Tarantino or Matthew Vaughn."

That was then. Fast-forward to 2019 and John Wick 3 just introduced Anjelica Huston as The Director, who also runs an academy that turns ballerinas into assassins. Putting two and two together, THR asked director Chad Stahelski if it was safe to say her introduction set up the Ballerina spinoff. Here's Stahelski's reply:

I think if you read Shay’s script and you look into the characters in that, you’d find your answer.

Not having seen Shay Hatten's script, it still seems pretty safe to say the answer is "yes." A lot can happen in two years to change a story, but the franchise-best box office success of John Wick 3 -- not to mention approval from both critics and fans -- suggests this spinoff has a great chance of moving forward. There are plenty of questions on how it would play out, including whether Anjelica Huston would be a main star and if Keanu Reeves would cameo at all. But we can add it to the list of spinoff/sequels from here.

(For the record, that long-gestating TV spinoff set at the L.A. Continental hotel is meant to have at least a Keanu Reeves cameo, and possibly a voice-over from Winston actor Ian McShane.)

John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski also talked to THR about the third chapter sharing more background on Jonathan's own origin story. In a section of his answer, he also touched on things that might be relevant to the Ballerina spinoff:

... As far as backstory goes, everything you need to know about John is in Parabellum. We hid it very well and hopefully, you’ll watch this movie three or four times. You may not care, and if you do care, when you watch The Director’s scenes and you see the girls, and you put two and two together with the tattoos and the crucifixes, the kind of martial arts he does, who he talks to, what languages he speaks, you can piece together a fairly comprehensive background on where John came from and what his upbringing was like. I give the audience a lot of credit; hopefully, they can piece it together and they like piecing it together. It’s like a book; that’s why we numbered the movies as chapters...

Speaking of chapters, John Wick: Chapter 3 ended on a note that has fans curious about John Wick: Chapter 4. If you want spoilers, check out our breakdown of the Parabellum ending and start imagining what might be next in Keanu Reeves' movie, plus the movie and TV spinoffs. Let's just hope this doesn't turn into -- wait for it again -- overkill.

Fox Almost Made A Marvel Crossover Movie Starring The X-Men, Fantastic Four And More

Fox Almost Made A Marvel Crossover Movie Starring The X-Men, Fantastic Four And More

The superhero movie landscape looks a lot different than it did at the beginning of the decade. For one thing, back then, the film rights to properties like X-Men and the Fantastic Four still belonged to 20th Century Fox, a studio a long ways away from being owned by a certain Mouse House. As such, the chances of seeing these Marvel characters share screen time with those in the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t possible.

However, evidently at one point Fox was considering making its own Avengers-level crossover superhero movie. During his recent appearance on Fatman Beyond, screenwriter Zack Stentz, who co-wrote both X-Men: First Class and Thor, was asked which of his movies that he’s written that will never come out is his favorite, Stentz answered:

My ex-partner and I, when we were working at Fox and working on X-Men: First Class, we did a secret movie for them that, I can't tell you what the plot was, but I can tell you that it used all of the characters, all of the Marvel characters that Fox had at the time in 2011. It used the X-Men. It used the Fantastic Four. It used Daredevil. It used Deadpool. Daredevil was still at Fox at the time. And it was a really cool freakin’ script. We almost had Paul Greengrass directing it, which would've been so cool, but he had another project to do instead. It didn't end up going, but it was a script I was really proud of and it would've been really good.

Man, this takes me back. While the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool were obviously Fox-only Marvel characters up until the Disney transaction went through, it’s easy to forget that Daredevil was also part of that group for a long time. The Man Without Fear only starred in one movie, and while Fox tried to get a reboot off the ground by 2012, that fell through and the rights went back to Marvel, paving the way for the Daredevil Netflix series.

Having Paul Greengrass direct this Fox crossover movie also would have been a cool choice, as the man had proved his action mettle with The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. Going off the loose time frame Zack Stentz laid out, I suspect Greengrass turned down this opportunity in favor of directing Captain Phillips, which went on to be nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, among other accolades.

Had Fox moved forward with this movie featuring the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool and X-Men, this might have placed the Fox Marvel franchise on a higher pedestal. Granted, the X-Men film series has been chugging along steadily for nearly two decades, which includes the surprise success of Deadpool, but along with Daredevil barely getting a chance to shine, the Fantastic Four movies didn’t fare particularly well, with the 2015 reboot ending up a critical and commercial bomb.

Perhaps new life could have been breathed into all these characters had they been able to join forces in such an epic tale, although I worry introducing Deadpool here might have resulted in the character not being adapted as well as he was in 2016. It’s also a good bet that this movie would have taken the X-Men down a much different path than they are now.

Fast-forwarding to now, all of these properties now rest under Marvel Studios, and while the plan is to keep Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool around, it’s expected that the Fantastic Four and X-Men will are rebooted down the line. Daredevil was cancelled over a month after Season 3 premiered, and it remains to be seen if we’ll ever see Charlie Cox’s version of Matt Murdock again or if the character will be rebooted again to better fit within MCU continuity.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates concerning Marvel’s plans for any of the above characters on the big or small screens. Those of you who are curious about what the MCU has lined up next can look through our comprehensive guide.

Why Captain Marvel Got A New Look For Avengers: Endgame

Why Captain Marvel Got A New Look For Avengers: Endgame

Brie Larson's Captain Marvel doesn't have a massive part to play in Avengers: Endgame, but the small role is an important one that required a lot of work when it comes to post-production digital effects.

However, it turns out it wasn't simply Carol Danvers' powers that required a lot of effects, but her costume as well. While Brie Larson wore a physical superhero suit on the set of Avengers: Endgame, it was decided later the suit needed to be changed up, and so a completely digital costume was drawn over Captain Marvel in post-production. According to visual effects supervisor Matt Aitken...

She was filmed with her physical costume with a great costume from the costume department. But after her sequences were filmed, it was decided by the filmmakers that her costume needed to be more different from the costume that she was wearing in the 25 years ago, whatever the era of the Captain Marvel movie. So we ended up replacing her costume with a CG suit for all her shots.

Brie Larson actually filmed Avengers: Endgame prior to making the Captain Marvel movie. It seems that one side effect of this was that only one suit was produced for the character. At the time, this probably made sense, but eventually it was decided that it Carol Danvers was going to change other things about her appearance in the 25 years of time that pass between the two films chronologically, she'd probably change her costume at some point as well.

Since the scenes had already been filmed, it just meant changing the costume in post-production as Matt Aitken told Comicbook.com. CGI costumes are nothing new, Iron Man's entire suit is a digital effect after all.

Captain Marvel is one of the more interesting characters in the MCU right now simply by virtue of how new she is. Introduced in between the two recent Avengers film, and not having a massive role in the finale, we're still not sure quite where the character stands. The feeling is that Carol Danvers will be playing a major role in the future of the MCU, but we didn't really get that idea from Avengers: Endgame. She's clearly powerful, but that's about all we can say with certainty.

The fact that the character was introduced so recently, and then used so quickly, so much so that they clearly didn't consider how the chronology would impact the character's look, shows how Captain Marvel may still be something of an unknown quantity to Marvel Studios as well.

Or at the very least, she was at the time. While we don't know what the future holds for the MCU characters, Marvel certainly does. Bob Iger has said that we'll learn more about what Marvel has planned for the future this summer, and with both SDCC and D23 set to happen in the coming months, we can guess one or both of those events will be our massive unveiling.

Bond 25 Reportedly Hired An 'Intimacy Coordinator' For Sex Scenes

Bond 25 Reportedly Hired An 'Intimacy Coordinator' For Sex Scenes

Cool cars, fancy gadgets, explicitly made alcoholic beverages and steamy sex scenes are all hallmarks of the James Bond film series, and I expect they will all be present for next year’s Bond 25. It’s that latter point, though, that may be undergoing some changes behind-the-scenes for Cary Joji Fukunaga’s movie if a new rumor is to be believed. That’s because Bond 25 has reportedly hired an ‘Intimacy Coordinator’ for its sex scenes.

According to The Sun, Bond 25 will be employing an Intimacy Coach to make the actors feel comfortable during sex scenes, a first for the franchise. The story went on to say that Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and the team behind the film wanted to bring the franchise up to speed in the #MeToo era, and that the hiring of an Intimacy Coordinator is testament to that.

The Intimacy Coordinator would go through the script with the actors participating in the sex scenes, namely Daniel Craig and new Bond Girl Ana De Armas, to make sure that they feel comfortable and have whatever support they need on set. This story should be treated as rumor until we have official confirmation from Eon Productions, MGM, Barbara Broccoli or Cary Joji Fukunaga, but it is a move that would certainly make sense.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Intimacy Coordinators. as the title and job entered our lexicon last year. HBO, the premium cable network known for having sex scenes in its shows and movies, announced that any of its productions involving sexually intimate scenes would have an Intimacy Coordinator from then on.

The role of the Intimacy Coordinator was described as someone who mediates between the actors, directors, producers and crew regarding sex scenes. On The Deuce, Intimacy Coordinator Alicia Rodis reviewed the script and discussed and coordinated the scenes with the actors, as well as notified them of any last-minute script changes. The Intimacy Coordinator is also an advocate for the actors as these scenes are worked through.

If Bond 25 has employed an Intimacy Coordinator, that person would presumably fulfill a similar function to make everyone feel comfortable (although probably still awkward) and safe during sex scenes.

James Bond is one of fiction’s most notorious womanizers and although he isn’t known for treating women well, that should not hold true of the Bond films. Both the women and the men acting in sex scenes should feel comfortable, informed and prepared for what they have to do without being pressured into anything else.

It would be a progressive move for Bond 25 and one that is frankly a no-brainer. The production spends a little extra money to hire an Intimacy Coordinator, the actors get support to feel comfortable during sex scenes and the production still gets the scenes it needs, as well as some positive PR for taking such a step. For that latter reason, if this rumor is true, I imagine we will hear some sort of confirmation before the film comes out.

Bond 25 recently had to suspend production after Daniel Craig suffered an injury, but it is fortunately not expected to be for too long so hopefully the film will still hit its release date.

Bond 25 opens in theaters on April 8, 2020. For movies arriving a little sooner, check out our 2019 Release Schedule.

What If Steve Or Bucky Had To Sacrifice For The Soul Stone In Endgame? Here's Sebastian Stan's Take

What If Steve Or Bucky Had To Sacrifice For The Soul Stone In Endgame? Here's Sebastian Stan's Take

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame.

Captain America and Bucky Barnes are a favorite duo in the MCU, with their friendship being vital for each character's arcs. Seeing as how their friendship is so strong, some fans have been wondering what would happen if Steve and Bucky were the ones to find the Soul Stone. The specific rules of the stone require a sacrifice and, according to Sebastian Stan, it's one both characters would be willing to make.

In the quest for the Infinity Stones, no stone costs as much as the Soul Stone. Found on the planet Vormir, the stone requires an everlasting exchange from the one looking to claim it. As the Red Skull says, it's a soul for a soul. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos killed his daughter Gamora, and in Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow makes the sacrifice to save Hawkeye.

Basically, shit goes down when characters go to Vormir, so how would the MCU's biggest bromance handle the cost of the Soul Stone? While in attendance at Italy’s Jus In Bello convention (via ComicBook.com), Sebastian Stan was asked which of the two characters would take the plunge off the cliff to spare the other. Stan sounded fascinated by the question and this was his answer:

Wow. [Steve] would probably be like, ‘I got this.’ And [Bucky] would have been like, ‘No, I should be doing this.' No, I think it would have been a fight, and I probably would have tried to — I should be the one, after everything, to take the leap, so to speak. But knowing him, he probably wouldn’t let me. But I don’t know, that’s a crazy question. Jesus. And then the Red Skull was there.

That sounds about right. Neither Steve or Bucky would be okay with the other killing themselves for the stone and they would definitely fight each other for that "right." It's exactly what happened with Clint and Natasha in Endgame. In fact, you could probably take almost any two heroes in the MCU, put them on Vormir, and they would fight each other to make the sacrifice.

Plus, Sebastian Stan brings up the very good point that Red Skull adds an interesting wrinkle. How would Cap and Bucky react to seeing their arch-nemesis alive as a Ring Wraith on Vormir? Cap definitely had to meet Red Skull to return the Soul Stone at the end of Endgame, so hopefully one day we get to see how that interaction plays out.

Avengers: Endgame is still out there eating up records and you can watch it as much as you like. For everything the summer has to offer for movie fans, be sure to stay up to date with our 2019 movie release guide. For all other movie news, keep it right here at CinemaBlend.

6 Classic Disney Cartoons That Should Get The Live-Action Treatment After Rescue Rangers

6 Classic Disney Cartoons That Should Get The Live-Action Treatment After Rescue Rangers

It's taken five years since we first heard it was a possibility, but the feature film adaptation of Disney’s classic 1989-1990 television series Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers has finally landed a director in The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer. The live-action/CG hybrid from the Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping co-director could be bound for theater screens or Disney’s upcoming Disney+ streaming service.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Disney and  Mandeville Films’ Rescue Rangers movie, but according to THR, it will not be an origin story or a detective agency story like the cartoon. It is instead described as something meta and self-referential. While we’ll have to wait and see what that means and how well the Rescue Rangers movie appeals to fans of the cartoon, its very existence shows that Disney’s classic cartoons are on the table for adaptation.

Disney will eventually run out of animated classics to remake and its classic animated series are another option to fill out its theatrical and future streaming calendars. Series like Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers also carry with them major nostalgic sentiment for millennial audiences, a valuable trait in today’s marketplace.

With all of that in mind, here are 6 classic Disney cartoons that should get the live-action treatment after Rescue Rangers.

Disney’s Adventures Of The Gummi Bears

The very first animated production by Walt Disney Animation Television, Adventures of the Gummi Bears is one of the most obvious candidates for a live-action/CG hybrid akin to what Rescue Rangers is getting. Adventures of the Gummi Bears tells the story of a group of humanoid bears belonging to an ancient, magical and technologically advanced race. In the medieval kingdom of Dunwyn, the bears, along with a small group of friendly humans, go on adventures to discover their history while battling the evil Duke Igthorn and his ogres.

Gummi Bears has deeper mythology than you might expect for a cartoon. Given the magical elements and the medieval fantasy setting, a live-action feature film adaptation would have greater potential in terms of scale than some of the other titles on this list. And as Detective Pikachu recently showed, there is no need to force realism. If done well, the Gummi Bears can be just as cartoony and fantastical as their animated counterparts and still look right alongside human actors. They are magical bears after all.

Talespin

Photo-realistic CGI talking animals were one of those gambles that could have really turned people off, but based on the success of Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book and what we’ve seen of The Lion King, audiences will buy in. So why not take another risk and throw some clothes on Bill Murray’s Baloo and turn him into a 1930s Pacific Islands bush pilot for a live-action adaptation of Talespin? Talespin ran for 65 episodes in the early '90s. In it, Baloo is an air-delivery pilot who, along with business owner Rebecca and orphan navigator Kit, must keep the business flying while evading nefarious air pirates.

The show had a classic action-adventure feel, reminiscent of movies like The Rocketeer, Indiana Jones and with a touch of Casablanca. The period-piece aspect is part of what would make a Talespin movie feel super unique in today’s landscape and I have no doubt such a film would be a blast. Admittedly, this one seems less likely given the cost rendering such a film would require, especially for a property without the name recognition of The Jungle Book.

Darkwing Duck

Anecdotally, Darkwing Duck, which aired in the early '90s as part of The Disney Afternoon slate, seems to be one of Disney’s more beloved classic cartoons (in no small part thanks to a great theme song). The tale of mild-mannered duck Drake Mallard and his superhero alter ego Darkwing Duck was a goofy and action-packed series that also had plenty of heart with Drake’s adopted daughter Gosalyn. The series acted as something of a parody of superheroes like Batman and The Shadow with the bumbling Darkwing Duck mirroring those grim and serious crimefighters.

Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles series already plays with some of the superhero tropes, but a Darkwing Duck movie could really lean into that while also making fun of spy movies and noir films. Such a film could be the detective story the Rescue Rangers movie supposedly isn’t, and more than that property, Darkwing Duck seems ripe with meta, self-referential potential. I’m not sure how exactly how well it would translate to “live-action,” but I’m interested to see it happen. Come on, let’s get dangerous.

Gargoyles

Of all the classic Disney cartoons that have live-action feature film potential, Gargoyles is the most obvious. It’s so ripe for adaptation it’s kind of baffling a Gargoyles movie hasn’t happened yet, especially considering that Jordan Peele supposedly wanted to make one. Gargoyles ran in the mid-nineties and told the story of a clan of creatures of the night who turned to stone by day and protected New York City once the sun goes down.

Gargoyles was notable for being much darker than many of its contemporaries, with complex stories and rich characters that made the show ahead of its time and an eventual cult classic. Modern CGI could finally do Gargoyles justice in live-action on the big screen and I think such an adaptation, that really took the property seriously, would have real blockbuster franchise potential. It’s got action, magic, mythology and a modern setting. It would also be completely different from both Disney’s other offerings and those from other studios and that sort of unique quality makes it worth pursuing.

Bonkers

A spinoff of the earlier Raw Toonage TV series, Bonkers bears a lot of similarities to the classic live-action/animated hybrid comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Bonkers, an anthropomorphic bobcat, is a former cartoon star who has seen his fortunes fade a la BoJack Horseman and now works as a cop in Hollywood. Like Roger Rabbit, cartoons in the world of the TV show live, work and interact with human beings, including Bonkers’ partner Lucky Piquel, who hates toons, a hatred only exacerbated by Bonkers’ antics.

A Bonkers feature could be live-action with very cartoony cartoon characters populating the world and interacting with the human actors. Such a Roger Rabbit-esque approach wouldn’t require realism and would play in to the slapstick-y nature of the TV show. I don’t necessarily see this as a theatrical tentpole for Disney in the way the Gargoyles could be, but it would be ideal as a younger-skewing movie released on Disney+.

Recess

As evidenced by movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Stand By Me and Goonies, the childhood adventure story is a recipe for cinematic magic. Disney’s Recess may not have the supernatural elements of something like Stranger Things, but it delivers the great characters and relationships that are essential to making these stories work. The jock Vince, the leader T.J., the tomboy Spinelli, the genius Gretchen, the gentle giant Mikey and shy new kid Gus navigate the political battlefield of elementary school recess, while learning important lessons and forming meaningful friendships along the way.

Recess was wildly original and clever and seems like it would be an easy thing to adapt into live-action for a feature film for Disney+. Such a film could really have the childhood adventure quality of something like Goonies, while doing something unique with the mythology inherent to the Recess series. Recess already received a theatrical animated film in 2001 with Recess: School’s Out, which grossed $44.4 million worldwide on a $23 million budget. There is nostalgia and love for this property and it would really whomp if it never came back in some form.

Okay, so where is Ducktales? Well, Ducktales is currently back on the air with a new animated series starring the voice of David Tennant, so a live-action movie seems unnecessary at this point. And Goof Troop? I think Goofy is best served by staying in the fully animated realm as a jump to live-action of any sort could result in the kind of nightmare fuel that would give Pennywise bad dreams.

Disney has classic, beloved cartoons, with name recognition and strong nostalgia capital in its stable that could be brought back to life in wonderful fashion with live-action adaptations. Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers may be the first, but it is hopefully not the last.

Check out our 2019 release schedule to see all the biggest movies heading to theaters this year and let us know in the poll below which classic Disney cartoon you think should get the live-action treatment.

Captain Marvel Officially Crosses $1 Billion Mark

Captain Marvel Officially Crosses $1 Billion Mark

While so many are already gearing up for Avengers: Endgame, the story isn't quite over for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's previous entry just yet. Captain Marvel's box office totals have been slowly building, with its eyes on the $1 billion mark. Now, the movie has finally crossed that threshold, becoming the 38th movie ever, and the seventh MCU movie, to make $1 billion at the global box office.

The original Avengers film was the first Marvel movie to break the billion dollar mark. More recently, two of the Marvel films released last year, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War did so as well. This means Marvel will have two billion dollar films this year as well, as Avengers: Endgame is expected to not only break the billion dollar mark but break the $2 billion mark.

Expectations were high for Captain Marvel. The film was the first to be focused on a solo female hero, and coming in between the two big Avengers movies, one that has already become one of the highest grossing movies ever, and another that's expected to be, Captain Marvel could have been very easily overshadowed. However, the story of Carol Danvers has clearly been able to hold its own, and succeed in a way that not every part of the MCU franchise has been able to.

It also has done better than other female led superhero movies. DC's Wonder Woman finished it's theatrical run with a perfectly respecatable $821 million. The Gal Gadot-led film actually did better than Captain Marvel domestically, but Brie Larson's film more than made up the difference internationally.

The box office numbers, as reported by Variety, are, of course, good news for Marvel Studios and Disney. who have already got this year off to a great start. However, there's potentially more to it than that. Many have speculated that Captain Marvel is likely to be a major part of the MCU going into Phase Four, since we're expecting current top line characters, like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, to be on their way out. The fact that the audience has voted with their wallets and approved of the character means that if this is in fact the plan, it's going to go very well for Marvel.

We certainly expect Captain Marvel to be a difference maker when it comes to the events of Avengers: Endgame, and based on the fact that pre-sale records were broken when tickets went on sale for the movie yesterday, people are clearly ready for that.

The future of the MCU after Spider-Man: Far From Home comes out in July is still mostly a mystery. We know of a few projects in development, but nothing has a release date. Future Captain Marvel movies certainly seem likely following this result.