Both Robert Pattinson And Nicholas Hoult Are Allegedly Auditioning For Batman

Both Robert Pattinson And Nicholas Hoult Are Allegedly Auditioning For Batman

Since Matt Reeves’ upcoming movie The Batman is a just over two years away, it’s time for the movie’s pre-production to get into high gear and the new Bruce Wayne to be named. Recent reports said Robert Pattinson has been cast as the Caped Crusader, but Warner Bros has not made the announcement yet. Perhaps this is because the actor has not yet scored the role and Dark Phoenix star Nicholas Hoult is still in the running.

Umberto Gonzalez, a reporter with The Wrap, has provided a rumored development on The Batman casting. Here’s what he said:

BATMAN UPDATE: Robert Pattinson & Nicholas Hoult are screen testing for the role. I suspect they're screen testing in the Batsuit because Wardrobe Department will need full wardrobe test. Additionally, the film will now start production in Q1 2020.

Per this source’s update, there are still two actors in the running and they’re currently going head-to-head for the role with a screen test with the Batsuit. When Robert Pattinson’s name was announced a couple weeks ago, Nicholas Hoult was also said to be on the short list. However, Variety gave the edge to Pattinson, describing that he was in negotiations and the studio’s “top choice” for the Caped Crusader.

Gonzalez’s words also divulge that The Batman will begin shooting in early 2020, after it was previously reported that the film’s principal photography in London may be pushed back from November. There has been other reports supporting this theory as well.

The update does make some sense considering the decision to cast a new Batman is a huge decision for Warner Bros and DC. Very few high-profile roles such as this have one actor in the running, especially when the look of the character in costume will especially be analyzed, scrutinized and contribute to the success of the film.

Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult may have already made it through a long casting process, and this screen test could be either the first of many or the last audition between one of them nabbing the role. Even if Variety’s initial report of Pattinson being the favorite is in fact true, the filmmakers may still want to compare two screen tests to finalize their decision.

Considering all the press Robert Pattinson has received over the past couple of weeks, it would be a strange turn of events to later learn Nicholas Hoult has been cast instead. The internet blew up (and even petitioned) against the news, but Pattinson ultimately has won over a lot of fans interested in his portrayal. A phrase for his version has even been coined reminiscent of “Batfleck” titled “Battinson”. How would Hoult's name garner a catchy title?

This is good news for those rooting for Nicholas Hoult to take on Batman after his four-movie run as X-Men’s Beast which will presumably end with the upcoming release of Dark Phoenix.

The Batman has a June 25, 2021 release date to make, so sooner or later the new Dark Knight will be announced, maybe with a behind-the-scenes picture of this alleged screen test? That would be cool! Either way it’ll be exciting to see how the upcoming DC project shapes up.

Are you team Battinson or Nicholas Hoult? Let us know in the comments below.

First Terminator: Dark Fate Trailer: Sarah Connor Is Back With A Vengeance

First Terminator: Dark Fate Trailer: Sarah Connor Is Back With A Vengeance

The sci-fi genre has been rather popular since it's inception, but there are a few titles that stand out among the rest. Chief among those properties is James Cameron's Terminator, which has never really been far from theaters. The fan favorite installment of that franchise is Terminator 2, and the upcoming sequel Terminator: Dark Fate is a direct sequel to that movie.

Moviegoers have been seriously excited about Terminator: Dark Fate, particularly because it marks the return of actress Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. Luckily for us, the first trailer for Dark Fate has just been released, and it didn't disappoint. Check it out below.

Does anyone else have chills? The Terminator and Sarah Connor are both back, and the duo has quite the fight ahead of them.

The first Terminator: Dark Fate trailer opens with the trio of new characters. Mackenzie Davis' newcomer Grace is shown trying to keep Dani (Natalia Reyes) and her brother Miguel (Diego Boneta) away from danger. Specifically, the newest Terminator model, which is able to split itself into two separate entities. Played by Gabriel Luna, Dark Fate's big villain had a ton of screen time, and may be the most deadly version of the Terminator that we've seen in the franchise's long tenure.

Just when all seems lost, the trio of newcomers are saved. Not by Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800, but Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor. The decades since we saw her in Terminator 2 have hardened the iconic heroine even further, and she quickly disposes of the new villain through some heavy artillery. Namely, by shooting him with a massive gun, and then setting the bad guy aflame with another weapon.

While Sarah Connor may have saved Grace and Dani, smart money says taking down the new Terminator won't be quite that easy. Gabriel Luna's character has a ton of screen time in the first trailer, and may be even more deadly than Robert Patrick's T-1000 from T2. But Grace is also a new type of Terminator, one that identifies as a human. So clearly the Terminator canon is going to be going through some exciting changes.

Related: Terminator: Dark Fate Used A Clever Sarah Connor Callback To Reveal New Poster

Terminator fans may be hyped to see Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger back on screen together, but the most exciting scene from the first Dark Fate trailer comes in the final moments-- in an epic plane chase sequence. In what will no doubt be a thrilling experience in theaters, we see the Gabriel Luna's character crash into another plane, in an attempt to procure and/or murder Dani. We also see Grace dangling in the air, hanging onto debris that is slowly parachuting toward the ground.

Overall, the first Terminator: Dark Fate trailer was purposefully vague regarding its plot, as the film won't arrive until the fall. So we should expect more trailers to arrive in the coming months, revealing more about what to expect from the highly anticipated sequel.

Terminator: Dark Fate is set to arrive in theaters on November 1, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Hellboy’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Here, and It’s Rough

Hellboy’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Here, and It’s Rough

Guillermo del Toro's two Hellboy films struggled at the box office, but both movies reviewed quite well when they were released. The box office prospects of the newly rebooted Hellboy have yet to be realized, but on the review side of things...it's not going well. Just hours before the first general audiences get a look at the new Hellboy, the movie sits with a Rotten Tomatoes score of an abysmal (demon joke) 12%.

Specifically, as of this writing, that number represents 60 total reviews, with only seven of them qualifying as positive. That's actually a fairly small number of reviews for a wide release film that's expected to be the biggest opener of the weekend. However, in many markets, press were not given screenings of the film prior to release, so a lot of critics simply haven't seen the film yet. Of course, when critics aren't given screenings, that's frequently a sign of something bad, and the reviews that have come out have clearly confirmed that.

Still, there are always movies that critics don't love, but 88% of critics disliking a movie is quite a feat. For comparison, that puts Hellboy a point below Tyler Perry's A Medea Family Funeral which scored a 13% positive score. It's bringing up the rear for this weekend's major releases. Laika's Missing Link is sitting at a healthy 89% while the comedy Little isn't fairing well, but with a 52% score it looks like an Oscar contender compared to Hellboy.

There was a time when we expected genre material based on comic books to not be great. It was frequently reviewed poorly whether or not it found an audience. However, these days we're much more used to seeing this sort of material actually turn out well. The reasons that Hellboy has crashed so hard with critics are as varied as the critics themselves. The CGI is bad. The story is a mess. The characters go nowhere. It's all sizzle and no steak. If you like over the top violence with a story that seemingly goes everywhere at once, then maybe this is the movie for you after all.

Of course, it remains to be seen if any of this actually matters. While audiences and critics tend to be in rough alignment more often than people realize, the fact is that the two sides can certainly diverge. Critics can love movies that audiences don't bother with, this happens frequently with "awards bait" movies in the last quarter of the year, and audiences can embrace movies that critics hate. In the end, it's the audience response that will determine whether Hellboy is truly a success, or if it becomes the beginning of the new franchise is obviously would like to be.

There will likely be an influx of additional reviews for Hellboy as more critics see the film over opening weekend, but there's certainly no reason to expect a massive change in the overall response. If the film was on the border between "Fresh" and "Rotten" a couple decent reviews might make the difference, but that's far from where this one finds itself.

Joe Russo Wants Marvel Fans To See Endgame Opening Weekend To Avoid Spoilers

Joe Russo Wants Marvel Fans To See Endgame Opening Weekend To Avoid Spoilers

The stakes for the Marvel Cinematic Universe could not be higher. With Captain Marvel in the rear view, there's only one movie left in Phase Three. Avengers: Endgame will be the cumulation of the entire MCU thus far, and will finally catch up on the surviving heroes in the wake of Thanos' mass murder. Marvel Studios has been keeping its cards close to the chest for the last year, so the general public has no idea what might go down during the highly anticipated movie.

But the wait is nearly over, as Endgame is set to arrive in less than a month. The marketing material has been purposefully vague, not revealing much about the contents of the Russo Brothers' highly anticipated blockbuster. Everyone involved seems to be worried about spoilers, including The Russo Brothers themselves. Joe Russo recently encouraged fans to see the film on opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers, saying:

I think this one has even more spoilers than the last one. This is a culture that wants everything now, and it’s getting worse. The world is connected via social media, and information travels within seconds. If you’ve been following along with this narrative for 10 years, you’re going to want to protect yourself. It’s best to go in clean. I encourage people to go opening weekend because I’m sure everything is going to hit the internet the moment the movie hits the screen.

When it comes to the biggest blockbuster of the year, timing matters. So Joe Russo wants the fans to run to theaters during Endgame's first weekend of showings. Because we all know that the internet and social media isn't a safe place for spoilers.

Joe Russo's comments to Box Office Mojo make a great deal of sense, as the public knows little to nothing about the contents of Avengers: Endgame. As such, basically every frame of the upcoming blockbuster can be considered a spoiler. Infinity War showed that the Russo Brothers were pulling no punches when it came to their pair of blockbusters, so the narrative possibilities and consequences are totally in their court.

Avengers: Infinity War saw a ton of characters perish, both by the physical hands of Thanos and by The Decimation. This gives the chance for the surviving heroes to carry the events of Endgame. But smart money says there will be more character deaths in the new movie. Many of Marvel's biggest stars are coming to the end of their contracts, including Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. So it seems more than possible that they could perish in order to save the universe and hopefully reverse the affects of the snap.

Luckily, answers are coming. But in order to see Avengers: Endgame without Twitter ruining major plot points, you may want to head to theaters as soon as it hits theaters next month. At least, that's Joe Russo's suggestion.

Avengers: Endgame will finally arrive in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

At a glance, 2014’s John Wick could have easily been mistaken for a standard revenge flick that, other than its likable star, would be completely unremarkable. Yet, in one of the most pleasant surprises of recent years, John Wick turned out to be a stylish and original movie with riveting action that took full advantage of the talents of Keanu Reeves. Then in 2017, John Wick: Chapter 2 avoided a sophomore slump and proved this property has franchise potential.

Now John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives to make it a trilogy. The first two films were critical successes and the reviews for the third just dropped. So did director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves make it 3 for 3? CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes certainly thinks so, he gave Parabellum 4 stars out of 5 in his review, praising how the film delivers what we want and expect, while expanding the lore. Mike said:

Combining slick, brutal action, a devilish sense of humor, and an intriguing world that becomes more familiar (yet more mysterious each time), John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum delivers the goods yet again.

Mike Reyes appreciated the world-building the third film in this action franchise performed, expanding the lore and adding intrigue beyond the bullets. He wasn’t alone either, as IGN’s Jim Vejvoda also enjoyed the fleshing out of John Wick’s backstory and of course the gleefully violent action. Jim gave the film 8.5 and said:

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum brings the title character back to his roots while also offering new twists to where things could go from here, all with the over-the-top, brutally executed action set-pieces fans have come to expect from the franchise. They will not leave disappointed.

The John Wick franchise made its name on its incredible action and thus fans have come to expect that the ante will be upped each time out. On that account, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum looks like it delivers. In his 9 out of 10 review, Slashfilm’s Chris Evangelista went so far as to call it an “action masterpiece”:

John Wick 3 is a bone-cracking, horse-kicking, dog-biting, book-smashing, ax-throwing action masterpiece.

The word ‘epic’ gets thrown around a lot, but ‘masterpiece’ still carries an air of exclusivity and import. But having great action isn’t enough for everyone, it actually might be too much. In one of the few less enthusiastic reviews thus far, Variety’s Andrew Barker lamented that the action is action for its own sake and not in service to any deeper purpose. He said:

But as masterfully executed as the action is, watching two-plus hours of mayhem without any palpable dramatic stakes, or nuance, or any emotion at all save bloodlust offers undeniably diminishing returns. There are only so many times you can see a bullet pass through a skull before it gets deadening, and then almost dull.

For some, there is a desensitization to John Wick’s kills in the film and a lack of investment in the action because of a lack of stakes and emotion. There is something to be said for a franchise knowing what it is, what its goals are and delivering on them though and that’s what The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore highlights in his review:

An epic of choreographed mayhem that expands the Wickiverse in mostly pleasing ways, it is destined to satisfy fans of this surprise-hit franchise: If its ludicrous aspects bug you, what the hell are you doing here?

This was a common theme in the reviews. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum isn’t reinventing the wheel. It is expanding the mythology of the previous films and delivering the beautifully brutal action fans of the franchise want and expect. That beautifully choreographed and shot action is what makes the film work, as Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson said in her 3.5 out of 5 review:

Whatever it lacks in narrative intelligence it makes up abundantly in visual moxie, and in a medium that is first and foremost visual, that’s what makes something great

Entertainment Weekly’s Chris Nashawaty echoed this sentiment and summed up what John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parbellum is and what it isn’t in his “A-“ review, saying:

I don’t mean to give the impression that John Wick 3 is anything grander than a gorgeously choreographed, gratuitously violent action movie. But as gorgeously choreographed, gratuitously violent action movies go, it’s high art.

All in all, the reviews for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum give the impression that if you enjoyed the previous two films and like exploring this world and seeing Keanu Reeves’ character kill lots of people in cool and brutal ways, you’ll have a blast with this movie.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum opens in theaters on May 17. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of the big movies arriving this summer.

Armie Hammer Reveals His Most Exhausting Moment Of Filming Hotel Mumbai

Armie Hammer Reveals His Most Exhausting Moment Of Filming Hotel Mumbai

Making movies can be a pretty tiresome task, especially if an actor is on a film as seriously intense as Hotel Mumbai. However, when it came to Armie Hammer's role in the film, exhausting is maybe an understatement, as one particular segment had him literally tied-up in production.

In fact, during a particular moment filming Hotel Mumbai -- and minor spoilers -- Hammer's character finds himself tied up as a hostage to the gunmen who overran the Taj Hotel on November 26, 2008. Bound with several other captives, including his onscreen wife played by Nazanin Boniadi, the scene comes at a crucial point during the film's standoff between the terrorists and the various law enforcement agents surrounding the building. With the pressure on to claim any one who's rich and American as collateral, Armie Hammer's character is undoubtedly a high priority target, and his safety from that point becomes one of the burning questions the audience is left to ponder until the end.

It's a powerful scene, but one that left him in a predicament for some time. He told CinemaBlend:

I spent about five days tied up, on the floor, for about 12 hours a day. Which was no fun. Everything just hurt, my hips hurt, my shoulders hurt. That was probably the hardest thing for me.

Armie Hammer revealed this fact during his chat with CinemaBlend at the recent Hotel Mumbai press day. And I can confirm the sequence in question looked just as grueling to watch as it was to film.

So naturally, having your arms and legs tied in such a fashion that you look believably captured on camera is going to do a number on you. On the other end of the camera, there was an equally exhausting task being undertaken: filming between two different locations that had to create a seamless whole.

Hotel Mumbai did use the actual exterior and lobby of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai for the film's titular setting. However, for the various interiors and other locations shown in the film, co-writer/director Anthony Maras used studios in Australia to complete the film's shooting locations. During that same press day, Maras detailed to us how using these two locations presented some interesting working scenarios:

In terms of sort of filming this film, every day was a challenge. We had huge logistical efforts of trying to recreate one of the grandest hotels in the world; and we had to do it between Australia and India. You know, you had Armie Hammer running out of a restaurant in Australia and into a lobby in India, and somehow we had to make that work. It’s a testament to our team on a logistical level, but far more difficult than that or far more poignant than that shall I say, is the challenge of having to do justice to the stories of the survivors and those who didn’t make it. And that was really at the forefront our entire time. The film is a plea for peace, and it’s an honest attempt to try and portray both the horror and the humanity of what went on inside the walls of the Taj Hotel.

You can see both Anthony Maras and Armie Hammer discussing their parts of the Hotel Mumbai process, in the below video, taken from that same press day:

Overall, the greatest obstacle for Hotel Mumbai was, as Anthony Maras said, the one that challenges many films based on a true story: honoring the tragedy and its victims, while also making it a seamless, entertaining, and informative experience. The dedication on both fronts shows strong in the film itself, making for a movie experience that should leave the audience thinking when they're walking out of the theater. Let's just hope all involved are nice and rested after capturing these harrowing events on film.

Hotel Mumbai opens in limited release this weekend, with a wide release taking place on March 29th.

Why The New Spider-Man: Far From Home Trailer's Big Twist May Not Mean What You Think

Why The New Spider-Man: Far From Home Trailer's Big Twist May Not Mean What You Think

The new trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home dropped this morning, and as the first new thing to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a post-Avengers: Endgame spoiler world, it contained a lot of interesting bits of information.

One of the more interesting bits of information came from giving us more information about Jake Gyllenhaal's version of Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio. Fans of the comics who know the Mysterio character were already very curious about how this new version of the character was seemingly quite different, but now we apparently have an explanation as to why that is. Allegedly.

What Mystereo Says

The first words out of Jake Gyllenhaal's character in the new trailer are "we could have used someone like you on my world." It seems that the events of Avengers: Infinity War and/or Endgame had a significantly bigger impact on the universe than we thought. We're told that The Snap tore a hole in the fabric of reality, and Gyllenhaal's character, while from Earth, is not from the same one that we've been watching throughout the MCU.

While not specifically stated in the trailer, by implication, the idea is that the elemental monsters that Spider-Man and Mysterio will take on together in Far From Home, have also crossed over from this hole in dimensions.

Mysterio is traditionally one of Spider-Man's most popular villains, so the implication that he was a hero this time around has been interesting from the start. Perhaps the version of Quentin Beck from the MCU dimension is still a potential villain somewhere, but based on multiverse theory, there's always the possibility that he's a hero elsewhere.

Certainly, if true, the idea that crossing between dimensions is possible now in the MCU is a game changer, but that's only the case if any of this is actually true.

Why The Multiverse May Not Be Real

If you're at all familiar with Mysterio in the Spider-Man comics, then you know one thing. Quentin Beck is a damn liar. He is the lyingist liar who ever lied. He doesn't tell the truth is what I'm saying.

Of course, as a bad guy, one wouldn't expect Mysterio to be an honest man, but Mysterio's entire game takes falsehood to a new level. In the comics he has claimed to be multiple people who he is not. He has framed Spider-Man for crimes he did not commit. He has faked people's deaths. He has attempted to drive people insane by making them see or believe things that are not true.

Mysterio's whole game is using various means, many born out of movie special effects, to make people believe whatever it is he wants them to believe. So is it too much to believe that Mysterio is making people believe he's from another world when he's actually from the same one that everybody else is from?

From the moment that this Mysterio was suggested to be a hero we've all been at least open to the very likely possibility that he is not. It's very possible, it's almost certainly likely, that Mysterio is actually the villain of Spider-Man: Far From Home. The creatures are his creations which he is using so that he can defeat them and look like a hero.

To what end? Of course, we don't know that yet, but you can certainly bet there's something to gain from Mysterio if he pull it off.

The idea that he's using the multiverse as a cover for his plan isn't that much of a step to take. It would explain to everybody else where these creatures came from and also keep Nick Fury and others from taking too close a look at Beck himself if they think he's from another world. And considering everything that people like Peter Parker and Nick Fury have been through in the last five years, the idea that the multiverse is a thing would certainly not be the craziest thing to happen recently.

The idea that it could be used as a misdirection by Marvel just to mess with fans here can't be overlooked as a possibility. The multiverse concept is something that a lot of fans will probably get very excited about seeing. Of course, many fans got very excited about seeing the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, and that didn't really go how people were expecting. It's possible it's time for another big Marvel swerve.

It's possible this entire thing is a misdirection by both the character in the film, as well as the studio bringing us the movie.

What If The Multiverse Is Real After All?

Of course, with a lack of data, I'm simply theorizing in one direction. The opposite is certainly possible. The multiverse could certainly be a real thing. Mysterio could either be the hero that he claims to be or the villain that we suspect him to be, and be from another dimension either way. If that is the case, it certainly does kick open the door of the next phase of the MCU to go to places most of us have probably never considered.

This could certainly be the reason that Far From Home is considered the end of the MCU's Phase 3 rather than the start of Phase 4. Marvel wants to end this phase with an indication of what's to come, and that is the multiverse.

If Marvel ever is going to introduce the multiverse, now is as good a time as any to do it. It opens up the possibilities of a lot more stories. They could go literally anywhere from here if the multiverse is real. Unless Marvel Studios has somehow decided they will never introduce the multiverse in the MCU, the idea of this being a misdirect isn't necessarily the best idea. Just like the Iron Man 3 twist, if this one is a trick, a lot of fans will be less than thrilled, so teasing a multiverse now only works if you never go back on it.

I suppose we'll find out in a couple months when Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters in July.