Catch up on the latest Movie News, where we bring you updates on upcoming blockbusters, casting announcements, exclusive trailers, and box office reports. Explore articles featuring in-depth movie reviews, interviews, and insider scoops on the biggest releases in Hollywood and beyond. Whether you’re into action, drama, sci-fi, or indie films, this is your go-to source for all things movies.
Marvel has yet to cast Carol Danvers for the Ms.Captain Marvel movie, but now we have a possible contender.
During a Reddit Q&A, MMA fighter and actress Ronda Rousey has stated she is interested in the role.
“Well… a lot of the good ones have been taken, but I’d like to vie for Miss Marvel,” Rousey responded when asked if she was cast in a super hero movie, which hero would she play.
Ronda Rousey is no stranger to big action sequences, so Carol Danvers (Marvel changed her name to Captain Marvel) would probably fit the MMA figher quite well. Rousey had a cool fight scene in Fast & Furious 7 with Michelle Rodriguez, was featured in The Expendables 3, Entourage and will be featured in the upcoming action flick Mile 22 starring Mark Wahlberg.
Ronda Rousey is currently undefeated and has been exchanging words back and forth with Floyd Mayweather. Rousey recently admitted she would probably lose to Mayweather in a boxing match, but stated in a no-rules fight, she could beat anyone.
“Floyd is one of the best boxers of all time,” Rousey said, reports ESPN. “He would definitely beat me in a boxing match. I unfortunately don’t get into ‘matches.’ I fight for a living. In a no-rules fight, I believe I can beat anyone on this planet. Boxing is a sweet science with strict rules that I respect very much and aspire every day to improve at. But you said ruleless fight, and that’s my honest answer.”
“Jem and the Holograms” has a October 23, 2015 release directed by Jon M. Chu starring Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko, Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis.
Synopsis:
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. In Universal Pictures’ Jem and the Holograms, four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.
Assuming there is a sequel to Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, it’s basically confirmed the movie will feature Cable.
While commenting on the recent Deadpool trailer, director Tim Miller mentioned if Cable isn’t in the sequel, fans will riot.
“There aren’t really many definitive Deadpool villains, apart from Cable,” Miller told Empire. “If we don’t put Cable in Deadpool 2 I think we’ll be run out of town on a rail.”
A sequel for Deadpool has yet to be green lit, but if the trailer reaction is anything to go by, Deadpool should do a lot better than Fantastic Four.
Cable has been tied to Deadpool since the character’s origins as Deadpool was hired to attack Cable and the New Mutants. The two have also been paired together in various Marvel comic book series, with Marvel recently announcing a new six-issue digital-first Deadpool and Cable “Split Second” series as well for October.
“Deadpool” has a February 12, 2016 release directed by Tim Miller starring Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, TJ Miller as Weasel, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Morena Baccarin as Copycat and Ed Skrein as Ajax.
Synopsis:
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Perfect World Entertainment Inc. and Cryptic Studios announced Star Trek Online: Season 11 – New Dawn, which brings a comletely new in-game story arc lasting beyond 2016. Additionally, this new season brings gameplay updates including an all-new reputation and the Admiralty system, looking to improve endgame progression for all players.
“Over the past five years, Star Trek Online has delivered an epic tale through 124 story missions,” said Steve Ricossa, executive producer of Star Trek Online. “Our New Dawn story line is a proof point to the growing nature of our game and community as we introduce a new era of Star Trek Online.”
Following the epic conclusion of the five-year The Iconian War story arc, New Dawn will rise out of the grim wartime tale to introduce an all-new story focused on rebuilding and hope. Discover a previously unknown civilization and uncover the mystery of a strange traveler from another time. New Dawn also sees the return of Chase Masterson reprising her role as Mirror Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a returning member from the large stable of Star Trek franchise actors.
Along with new lore and story progression in Season 11, Star Trek Online will also be updated with new gameplay options in the form of the Admiralty System. Take command of your inactive starships to complete dangerous assignments and gather exciting rewards, while advancing your influence in the Admiralty campaigns. Within this system, each starship is given special traits and stats that must be used to successfully complete assignments. Plan carefully which ships are sent on which assignment in order to meet their requirements and offset various hazards, in an effort to yield great rewards across any of three separate campaigns.
With more variety in gameplay and a brand new story arc to start, there’s never been a better time to play Star Trek Online.
Star Trek Online is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game where players can pioneer their own destiny as Captain of a Federation starship, become a Klingon Warrior and champion the Empire through the far reaches of the galaxy, or rebuild the Romulan legacy as the commander of a Romulan Republic Warbird. Its last expansion, Star Trek Online: Delta Rising, brought players into the Delta Quadrant and reintroduced them to iconic members from the Star Trek: Voyager cast including Seven of Nine, The Doctor, Harry Kim, Neelix and Tuvok. In Star Trek Online players have the opportunity to visit iconic locations from the popular Star Trek universe, reach out to unexplored star systems and make contact with new alien species.
An earlier report also stated Mark Ruffalo is in Germany for filming, but images of Ruffalo, who is yet to be confirmed for the movie, have yet to surface.
“Captain America: Civil War” has a May 6, 2016 release date directed by Anthony and Joe Russo starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Emily VanCamp, William Hurt, Martin Freeman and Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther.
Synopsis:
Captain America: Civil War picks up where Avengers: Age of Ultron left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.
Check out footage above of Henry Cavill talking Batman Vs. Superman as the actor recently stopped by LIVE With Kelly and Michael.
Cavill teases revealing who wins and also talks about almost playing Superman a while back for McG as well as possibly playing James Bond.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” has a March 25, 2016 release starring Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Ray Fisher as Cyborg with Callan Mulvey, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch and Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves. Justice League is to follow directed by Zack Snyder as well.
Synopsis:
Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
“Captain America: Civil War” has a May 6, 2016 release date directed by Anthony and Joe Russo starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Emily VanCamp, William Hurt, Martin Freeman and Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther.
Synopsis:
Captain America: Civil War picks up where Avengers: Age of Ultron left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.
Fantastic Four performed this weekend way below expecations and even under second guess estimates.
The movie only brought in a paltry $26.2 million, which was a lot under the initial $40-50 million hoped for by Fox, and even under the $28-29 million industry insiders were estimating.
As I previously stated, how could anyone working on the movie not know how bad it was going to turn out, whether it was from a pantless Thing to a poorly rendered Doom.
Now it turns out Fox is going to the fans for help.
It’s not unheard of for movie goers to attend screenings where studios pass out surveys in hopes of getting some quality feedback. Marvel has done it when they were looking for fans’ response to what upcoming movie they were most looking forward to (Iron Man 4 was an option), but at least Marvel wasn’t asking about the movie the fans were watching.
Now reports from Twitter surface stating Fox handed out a survey in various theaters across the country; however, no pics have surfaced as of yet.
Regarding what Fox should do, it’s obvious the answer would be to get Marvel’s help, similar to what Sony is doing with Spider-Man. There’s no question Kevin Feige is the man when it comes to comic book movies.
“Fantastic Four” has an August 7, 2015 release directed by Josh Trank from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg and Josh Trank; produced by Matthew Vaughn, Simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker, Robert Kulzar and Gregory Goodman; starring: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell.
Synopsis:
FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
Gareth Edwards has begun filming on the Star Wars: Rogue One anthology with set pics hitting the net revealing a look at Stormtroopers.
Edwards is filming the movie at London’s Elstree Studios where the first look images reveal the Stormtroopers as part of what looks to be a desert scene.
Not much is known about Star Wars: Rogue One other than it will star Felicity Jones. Currently rumored for additional roles are Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker and Jonathan Aris. The movie is also said to be centering around a brave band of resistance fighters uniting to steal the plans to the Death Star.
Star Wars: Rogue One has a December 16, 2016 release date.
Check out Hugh Jackman photobombing an Australian reporter.
Jackman was visiting with sick kids at Sydney’s Children’s Hospital when he spotted the news crew and decided to make a “special appearance” on camera.
The reporter, Jessica Turner, made mention of the incident on her blog as well:
I kind of heard someone yelling behind me,but like all reporters, I’m practiced at blocking out any background craziness and staying focused, so I carried on.. Until the Wolverine practically had his arms around me! ‘Photobomb!’ Hugh yelled. I was so shocked, I couldn’t believe this mega-star just punked me! I couldn’t help but laugh.”
When you are as big as a star as Benedict Cumberbatch, just about anything you do will be recorded by the fans, which is pretty much to be expected.
However, Cumberbatch is drawing the line when it comes to his latest gig, Hamlet, as you can watch in the above video as the actor asks fans not to record the play.
Cumberbatch mentions it’s “mortifying” when he is on stage and sees red lights from cameras in the audience as it’s a big distraction and keeps him from giving the best performance possible. He also mentions that further showings of the play will be evicting fans that do record, which of course he doesn’t want to see happen.
Maybe this time, we can give him a break and save the recordings for outside the play and Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange?
Bryan Singer has posted a new set image fromX-Men: Apocalypse that harkens back all the way to 1982 in Berlin.
Singer tagged the posted with “Fight Club,” “Ben Hardy” and “Angel,” in which we see what appears to be Hardy as Angel on the left, maybe the promoter/announcer on the right and the cage where the fight takes place. Interestingly enough, back in Singer’s original X-Men from 2000, Hugh Jackman was introduced as Wolverine in a similar scene. Jackman is not confirmed for X-Men: Apocalypse.
Singer also posted a pic of what may be the X-Men costumes.
“X-Men: Apocalypse” has a May 27, 2016 release directed by Bryan Singer starring Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Ian McKellen, Rose Byrne, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp and Oscar Isaac.
We get another tease from Jared Leto regarding his Joker, which will be featured next August in Suicide Squad.
Leto took to his social networks to released the following image of himself, which resembles the outfit Joker wears in Alan Moore’s classic Batman: The Killing Joke story.
Updated: with video of Leto from his Instagram account below.
“Suicide Squad” has an August 5, 2016 release date directed by David Ayer starring Will Smith as Deadshot, Jared Leto as the Joker, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Adam Beach as Slipknot, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, and Scott Eastwood in an unknown role.
Various Hollywood trade sites have confirmed the news, and Bill Murray has been spotted in Boston as well.
Murray played Dr. Peter Venkman in the original Ghostbusters; it’s speculated that both Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd will be playing new characters for the reboot.
“Ghostbusters” has a July 22, 2016 release directed by Paul Feig starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth and Neil Casey as the villain of the movie.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has a December 18, 2015 release directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer.
Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o and Gwendoline Christie will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.
Estimates are now stating that Fantastic Four will only do around $27-28 million this weekend, which is a lot less than the $40-50 million expected.
Fantastic Four only brought in around $11.3 million for Thursday and Friday screenings as well.
It’s also looking possible that Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation may actually top FF and retain the #1 movie of the weekend for the second week in a row.
For a comparison to the Fantastic Four reboot numbers, the previous film, Rise of the Silver Surfer, opened around $72 million when inflation is factored in.
Regarding the factors responsible for why Fantastic Four is doing so poorly, word of mouth is crushing the film as FF currently has a 9% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It probably didn’t help that the special effects for Doom and The Thing were about as good as Apocalypse, and that the script for the film is absolutely terrible. It actually makes you wonder who is working on these movies at Fox as how could they not know it’sso bad.
Any future for this version of Fantastic Four looks to be presently in the hands of international audiences as the movie is tanking big time in the U.S. The movie has a budget of around $120 million, which it could easily make up with foreign audiences. It’s probably safe to say if there is a sequel to this Fantastic Four, Josh Trank won’t be back to direct.
“Fantastic Four” has an August 7, 2015 release directed by Josh Trank from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg and Josh Trank; produced by Matthew Vaughn, Simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker, Robert Kulzar and Gregory Goodman; starring: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell.
Synopsis:
FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
The new WWE 2K16 video game features Stone Cold Steve Austin on the cover, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is a playable character as The Terminator.
The two have been jabbing back and forth on their various social network as well as with video on YouTube.
Above you can check out Arnold’s response to Steve Austin, and below is the Terminator 2K16 trailer as well as Stone Cold “welcoming” Arnold to the game with a Stone Cold Stunner.
2K announced the debut of 2015 WWE Hall of Fame inductee and global action film icon Arnold Schwarzenegger in WWE® 2K16, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE franchise. Best known for his acting, bodybuilding and political endeavors, Schwarzenegger, a longtime WWE fan and WWE Hall of Famer, will expand his relationship with WWE through WWE 2K16 with two playable characters – T-800 from The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day films. The playable characters will be available for those who pre-order the game at participating retailers for the PlayStation ® 4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, as well as Xbox One and Xbox 360. WWE 2K16 is scheduled for release on October 27, 2015 in North America and October 30, 2015 internationally.
“I’ve achieved many things in my life, but I’ve always said success means staying hungry and pushing the limits,” said Schwarzenegger. “I was honored to join the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year, and now I’ll continue my WWE legacy with one of my biggest film roles immortalized in WWE 2K16. Match the Terminator against Stone Cold Steve Austin®, Seth Rollins® or Daniel Bryan®, and there’s only one possible outcome: Hasta la vista, baby!”
From early childhood in his native Austria to today, Schwarzenegger represents the ultimate renaissance man, taking risks and defying odds through career accomplishments in bodybuilding, acting, politics and more. He won his first of four Mr. Universe titles at the age of 20, earned seven Mr. Olympia titles and since 1989 has hosted worldwide fitness expositions through the Arnold Sports Festival. Schwarzenegger is a fixture in numerous blockbuster action films, including Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, Predator, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Expendables franchise and his most recent release, Terminator Genisys, as well as for his roles in pop-culture favorites Kindergarten Cop and Twins. In addition, Schwarzenegger transcended from Hollywood to the state capitol, serving two consecutive terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2010.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger is a living legend with universal appeal, a perseverance for greatness and a strong relationship with WWE, including his recent Hall of Fame induction, all of which make him an incredible fit for WWE 2K16,” said Chris Snyder, Vice President of Marketing at 2K. “He’s a force to be reckoned with and defines what it means to raise some hell. Through his WWE 2K16 pre-order inclusion, fans simply can’t beat the opportunity to play as the Terminator in a WWE ring.”
Check out a new trailer above for the LEGO Dimensions video game with “Adventure World.”
Discover a few of the many Adventure Worlds that are coming to LEGO Dimensions! In this new trailer, your guide, the affable X-PO, shows you the expansive worlds based on DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz and more that will be a part of LEGO’s newest game.
Launching September 27th 2015, LEGO Dimensions will be available for Xbox One, theall-in one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computerentertainment systems and Nintendo Wii U system.
Info:
At the center of the LEGO Multiverse lies an ancient planet that is inhabited by the evil mastermind, Lord Vortech. It is believed that the person who controls the Foundational Elements on which this planet is built will control all of the Multiverse. Vowing to become that ruler, Lord Vortech determines that by summoning characters from a variety of LEGO worlds, he’ll be able to find the building blocks of the LEGO civilization. One day, a mysterious and powerful vortex appears in a variety of LEGO worlds, and different characters fromDC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, The LEGO Movie and more are swept away. Noticing their friends are being taken, Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle jump into the vortex on a journey they never imagined. Now, realizing Lord Vortech’s intentions, the three intrepid heroes must venture through space and time to save their friends and all of LEGO humanity.
Team up with the Caped Crusader, Gandalf the Great and Wyldstyle from The LEGO Movie to vanquish Lord Vortech and save LEGO humanity from annihilation in LEGO Dimensions. This Starter Pack delivers everything you need to begin your buildable adventure, including a copy of the game, LEGO Toy Pad, bricks to construct the LEGO Gateway, three minifigures and the LEGO Batmobile vehicle. Let your creativity and imagination guide you on your adventure, as you’ll team up with unlikely allies from a variety of worlds, including DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, The LEGO Movie, LEGO Ninjago, Back to the Future and more, to thwart your enemies. Use a combination of up to seven minifigures, vehicles and gadgets by dropping them on the LEGO Toy Pad to bring them into the universe. Let your imagination run wild in a solo journey, or team up with a buddy for cooperative drop-in/-out gameplay. Grab your blocks and flex your creative muscles — all of LEGO civilization is depending on you.
The page presently only contains the above banner and links to various articles about the movie as well as providing the following short description: “Gambit coming soon to theaters from 20th Century Fox.”
Gambit stars Channing Tatum with Rupert Wyatt on board as director; Rebecca Ferguson, Lea Seydoux and Abbey Lee are said to be up for the role of Bella Donna.
With Channing Tatum signed on to play Gambit, three names surface for the female lead role of Belladonna Boudreaux, aka Bella Donna.
According to Deadline, Rebecca Ferguson, Lea Seydoux and Abbey Lee are up for the role.
In the comics, Bella Donna is the long time love interest of Gambit and daughter to the leader of the Assassin’s Guild, the rivals to Gambit’s Thieve’s Guild.
Rebecca Ferguson is known for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Hercules; Lea Seydoux is featured in the upcoming James Bond Spectre film, and Abbey Lee starred in the recent Mad Max: Fury Road.
Gambit has an October 7, 2016 release directed by Rise of the Planet of the Apes‘ Ruper Wyatt.
Check out a side-by-side comparison video above featuring the Deadpool test footage and the new trailer.
“Deadpool” has a February 12, 2016 release directed by Tim Miller starring Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, TJ Miller as Weasel, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Morena Baccarin as Copycat and Ed Skrein as Ajax.
Synopsis:
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Check out “Hulk Run More Errands” above, which is the sequel to their “Hulk Run Errands” animated video from back in April that has over 7 million views.
A Mortal Kombat movie reboot is underway, which will have James Wan on board as producer.
Tracking Board reports the Mortal Kombat movie is being written by Mortal Kombat: Legacy writer Oren Uziel and The Expendables writer Dave Callaham.
The new Mortal Kombat is said to center around a seemingly harmless guy who realizes his potential when he finds himself caught in the middle of a cross-dimensional battle between the warriors of Earth and the monsters of Outworld. Now, in order to stop the world from total destruction, he must win the martial arts tournament known as “Mortal Kombat.”
The movie is based on the video games of the same name; WB Games recently released Mortal Kombat X as well.
James Wan is known for Fast and Furious, Insidious, The Conjuring and will be directing Aquaman for WB.
It’s further said WB plans on using Ben Affleck and Batman as the focus of their DC Universe.
“Basically, Warners are now working their movie universe around Ben’s Batman,” the anonymous source stated.
Affleck will first be seen as the Caped Crusaser in Batman Vs. Superman out next March followed by an appearance in Suicide Squad in August. Affleck begins filming for Justice League Part 1 next Spring, which gets released in 2017.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” has a March 25, 2016 release starring Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Ray Fisher as Cyborg with Callan Mulvey, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch and Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves. Justice League is to follow directed by Zack Snyder as well.
Synopsis:
Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Director Josh Trank has tweeted and since deleted a post on Twitter that blames Fox for ruining hisFantastic Four movie.
Fantastic Four currently sits at only a 9% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes as reviews have been absolutely crushing the movie. Our own review offered to not even bother spending your money to go see it. Just yesterday also saw Hollywood producer Adi Shankar offer he would like to remake Fantastic Four and explained how Fox missed the boat on a potential shared FF/X-Men universe.
Regarding Trank, he posted: “A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would’ve recieved great reviews. You’ll probably never see it. That’s reality though.”
There have been rumors about production woes regarding Trank and Fox for some time, with it also mentioned reshoots were filmed without Tranks input. If Trank’s words are anything to go by, it seems Trank didn’t have much or anything to do with the final cut of the movie.
Here is the tweet:
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“Fantastic Four” is currently in theaters.
Synopsis:
FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
Chris Miller is one half of the writing/directing team behind the upcoming Star Wars Han Solo movie as well as the animated Spider-Man film. Miller and his partner, Phil Lord, are also responsible for The LEGO Movie, Jump Street,The Last Man On Earth TV series and are said to be taking on The Flash for WB.
IGN caught up with Miller at the Television Critics association press tour to get Miller’s thoughts on Han Solo and Spider-Man.
Regarding Han Solo, Miller offered their largest demand is living up to the legacy of Han Solo and respecting the character.
Oh man, that’s our big challenge, right? It’s a huge pressure. We always try and find something that’s gonna make us… give a fire to our bellies and do a really good job. And this feels like there’s a lot of pressure to not screw this up. So we’ve definitely got that motivation and then the rest of it is about trying to give audiences a fresh experience that doesn’t feel like you’re just trying to check off some checklist of beats that you’re expecting and make something that feels new and exciting for people, but at the same time honoring what was so great about that character.
I could talk to you for a day about why he is the perfect blend of rogue-ish cowboy… Morally ambiguous, but has a clear moral compass. He’s funny, he’s off the cuff… When I was a kid on the playground, fights were about who got to play Han Solo. He’s just one of the best characters ever created.
And for Spider-Man, Miller obviously can’t say much, but he does offer it won’t be the same Spider-Man story we’ve always seen.
I can’t really talk too much about that project. Much like the Han Solo, it is shrouded in secrecy, so I can’t really talk about it. But I will say, it is not just another Peter Parker origin story that you’ve seen 400 times. It is something totally unique and different and not like anything you’ve seen. That’s all I can say… and you’re going to love it!
The Star Wars Han Solo movie has a May 25, 2018 release; the Spider-Man animated film has a July 20, 2018 release.
I can’t say I didn’t warn you back when people were losing their minds over Johnny Storm being played by Michael B. Jordan and I wrote an article that didn’t criticize his casting, but that of his sister being cast as white girl, Kate Mara. Thus, we have finally come to the opening weekend of this brand new Fantastic Four and what we have received is a decent amount of what I predicted, copious amounts of plot gaps, bland characters in a character-driven flick and one of the worst villains ever conceived for the contemporary comic book adaptation. Looks like Marvel won’t have to wait much longer to get those film rights back from 20th Century Fox. My general criticism of this film has less to do with the particulars and character reinventions and more to do with the project’s overall lack of focus, its disjointed nature and complete inability to build drama and suspense to allow the action that unfolds on screen to matter. There’s some kind of identity crisis going on where you can see the film wants to be about family, or about shady government, or about environmentalism, or even about plain old action. The problem is, none of these themes are given the proper screen time and production effort to allow them to mold the story in any unique way. It’s as if director Josh Trank and his studio overseer kept hitting the randomize button on a ton of film clips captured on Final Cut Pro to yield this product.
I don’t care if “the studio” is ultimately to blame for what certainly seems the worst effort put into a potentially serious, money making adaptation because even common civilians know by now that in the comic book film game, you don’t handle Hollywood, Hollywood handles you! That holds true even when the writer/director is also responsible for having created the source material. Trank may very well be correct in identifying studio interference as having negative effects to the production, but so what? Even if you are given a huge budget that gets stripped away from you, even if you cast A-listers that walk out on you or even if the studio exec bursts in and forces a major overhaul mid-production, as the director, there is one thing you can still ensure that has a lasting, positive impact that can save an audience: your cast’s performance. Sure, the modern day American film director has many responsibilities, but the most important and often overlooked is that of evoking the best out of your cast. You give them a framework for what you want, you show them how their characters matter and then you give them the freedom to explore those characters inside negotiable parameters. This cast clearly had their own ideas with little discipline because it shows in the lack of camaraderie, the lack of onscreen chemistry. When one’s cast is barely interested in the film, how then can an audience be convinced to be interested in watching?
Action Style
One would think that a comic book adaptation would have lots of good nuggets of cool power sequences and other worldly combat, but this film boasts none of that save for the climactic battle which was still more about CG going wild than anything else. Seriously, most of Ben Grimm’s “clobbering time” is seen through video monitors.
1/6
Action Frame
This too, is a little on the bland side as the FF’s powers are well contained for 80% of the film. Is it weird that a street race among POS used cars is the most dynamic sequence of movement going on in the whole film? The camera doesn’t follow Human Torch flight much because he doesn’t fly around very much.
2/5
Lead Performance
Apparently, Reed Richards is only a stereotypical super nerd in the strictest sense because nobody else has been able to perform this character as anything but, including Miles Teller. His performance evokes no semblance of leadership and no sense of loyalty for his own “friends” and “family.”
1/6
Supporting Performance
You know how you dodge the bullet over explaining the whole African American Storm family adopting Susan? You ignore it completely, kind of like how Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan barely acknowledge each other as siblings onscreen. Jaime Bell is hamstringed by his character going full CG. Toby Kebbell delivers a Doom that is far too emo to be maniacal, too lazy to be a mastermind and too disinterested in being a character let alone a villain. The one shining light was Reg E. Cathey as Dr. Franklin Storm. Freddy from House of Cards gives us a character with charisma and cares about being there. Too bad he didn’t rub off on the rest of the cast
2/5
Music
Music was present, but held neither marquee melody nor lasting impression.
3/6
Sound F/X
Ben Grimm’s rock voice +, teleportation machine sounds +, other dimension sounds +
4/5
“Moving” = 13/33
Digital F/X
Human Torch looked fine, inter-dimensional portal and transportation light shows were bright and Ben Grimm looked great as pants-less Thing. Too bad his effects ate up 70% of the CG budget leaving the rest of the film with a lot of regular scenery to capture.
4/6
Special F/X
This area takes a hit not just because there isn’t a ton of practical effects going on here, but there is a scene where the glass on a backboard shatters due to a high pitched sound and it’s the ONLY glass in the area that shatters (no one’s glasses or windows are affected). Sure, this is more of a continuity issue but someone on the explosive team should have at least raised their hands.
2/5
Costumes
Uninspired is the only word that comes to mind here. Casual wear is fine what with all the scientists, military and business people walking around, but the FF’s clothes are generic spacesuits. The worst is the entire concept behind Doom: his garb makes no sense; it looks goofy and has nothing to do with any iteration of that character ever conceived for film, TV or comic books. Just awful.
1/6
Hair & Makeup
Not a bad job being done here. When people are roughed up, they show wounds and an appropriate amount of rubble. Still wished the script supervisor got with Josh Trank to point out Sue Storm’s mismatched hair style and coloring at incorrect chronological points.
4/5
Exteriors
Baxter building outskirts looked great as did the Grimm family junkyard. The other dimension looked threatening enough from the ground-scape but certainly need more going on in the background.
4/6
Interiors
Another comic book adaptation means more science labs and research facilities. They were certainly set up and dressed in an acceptable manner, but got a bit bland considering we spend most of the movie in these types of settings.
3/5
“Picture” = 18/33
Hook
Boy genius develops inter-dimensional travel only to grow up to become the stretchy guy on a team of super-powered people. The only difference this has from any other FF origin story is the extended screen time put into Reed as a child, which isn’t as interesting as Reed as a young adult.
2/4
Conflict
Very weak here. Is it smart people vs. government? Is it family vs. each other? Is it good guys vs. bad guys? It’s more like all of it jumbled in a washing machine and the focus changes throughout the film.
1/4
Resolution
Thanks to time being elapsed at multiple points in the film, everything is “solved” just as soon as anything becomes a problem. Of course, there’s a token scene to imply a sequel, but this film doesn’t deserve it.
1/4
Dialogue
There’s more significant talking that occurs between those that are “handling” the FF. The FF themselves are a bit too nonchalant as they go from perfect strangers to reserved “besties” in no time at all.
2/6
Exposition
Watch out for all the plot craters strewn about! A more nimble mind will be able to maneuver these to get a general idea so long as the viewer accepts and forgets to get to the next scene. Nothing is methodically explored or explained.
2/5
Character Uniqueness
All of the main characters are less amplified versions of the character types they are supposed to represent. Reed is just one of the squad as opposed to the alpha nerd. Sue is an emotionless, responsibility first kind of girl. Ben is the tamest rock warrior you’ve ever seen. Johnny isn’t an ego-driven hothead; he just has daddy issues.
2/6
Character Relatability
To achieve relatability, characters need a sympathetic anchor to the audience. Even if Dr. Franklin’s concern for “his children” is played well enough by the actor, those moments play as empty because the audience doesn’t have enough bonding moments between father and “kids” to matter much. Also, I have no idea why the hell Reed does what he ultimately does. I’ve never witnessed a more random display of cowardice onscreen than this.
2/5
“Story” = 12/34
Overall MPS Rating: 43/100
Few Hollywood comic book films make the Fantastic Flops of ’05 and ’07 look like Academy Award winning gems in comparison, but this Fantastic Four movie does just that. As mind numbing as they were, at least they were fun and at times funny. This film seems so desperate to take itself seriously, yet has no clear idea as to what it’s being serious about. I beg you all to put your money to better use: check in with Netflix, go out to dinner, go to a museum, go to a park – just please, do not pay to be “entertained” by this. Send 20th Century Fox a clear message that pathetic, corporate attempts to squeeze as much profit from impotently developed licenses will not be rewarded by forgetting this movie exists at the box office.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials has a September 18, 2015 release directed by Wes Ball starring Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, PatriciaClarkson, Rosa Salazar, Aidan Gillen and Giancarlo Esposito.
Synopsis:
In this next chapter of the epic “Maze Runner” saga, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.