Insidious Star Thinks A Fifth Movie Could Happen

Insidious Star Thinks A Fifth Movie Could Happen

In the world of the movies, especially within the horror genre, there are those actors who are easily identified by their franchises. With actor Lin Shaye, the Insidious franchise has always been one of her calling cards in Hollywood, as even character death hasn’t stopped her from returning to the Jason Blum, James Wan and Leigh Whannell-run franchise for each entry it’s racked up.

So when Lin Shaye says that a fifth Insidious movie could happen, we’re inclined to believe her. And that’s exactly what she’s saying, as per a recent interview that had Shaye state the following:

I think there is another one, that they have a story for that and it is very different. The last one, for me to have realized the character’s past, present, and future of my character, was a gift. I don’t know if there’s a script being written, but I think there will be another Insidious movie.

Now while Lin Shaye is saying that another Insidious film is possible, it’s crucial to remember that there isn’t any official confirmation that Blum, Wan and Whannell have a script draft for such a film yet. Shaye herself even says this, as she clearly nails home the fact that the possibility is one that she believes in.

Having said that, seeing Lin Shaye's unwavering faith that the Insidious franchise, which saw her character Elise Rainier etched into the minds of many a modern horror fan, could be returning could be a good sign. She was last seen in 2018’s Insidious: The Last Key. The film delved more into the backstory of Elise’s childhood, showing just how deep her connection with the world of The Further truly was. It was also the highest grossing film in the series, when accounting for worldwide grosses.

So Lin Shaye’s remarks to Forbes just might be accurate, as producer Jason Blum and Universal are such good business partners that taking another stab at the Insidious world could prove profitable. Considering the budget for the series has held steady at $10 million, and each sequel has had no problem clearing the $100 million mark, that’s some easy money that the franchise could be earning.

With a standard two to three years gap between Insidious films, the world feels overdue for another round of spectral mayhem. Any minute now, Jason Blum and Universal could announce that James Wan and Leigh Whannell had a script for Insidious 5 sitting in their back pockets, just waiting to wow the world with a new and different adventure.

Maybe it’d be the continuing adventures of her fictional niece, Imogen Rainier, or perhaps that Sinister crossover that was once proposed might just get off the ground. Let’s not forget, she did say it’d be a pretty different film, and the rules are pretty clear on where Elise can and cannot be used in the Insidious franchise.

It’s all rumor and speculation for now, but as soon as something definite is announced in either direction, you can come back here to CinemaBlend and we’ll be reporting the cold hard facts.

Lin Shaye can currently be seen in Room For Rent, a thriller that’s available on VOD through Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube for rental or purchase.

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The Guardians Of The Galaxy Cameo You Probably Missed In Avengers: Endgame

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Cameo You Probably Missed In Avengers: Endgame

Warning! The following contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. Read at your own risk!

Avengers: Endgame's battle sequence at the end was massive. So massive, that if an unexpected character happened to help out, many in the audience may have missed it. Fortunately there were some who happened to catch an entirely unexpected Guardians of the Galaxy cameo, as a character from the movie popped in to lend a hand in the Avengers' time of need. Howard the Duck, of all people, showed up to fight for the world alongside the universe's mightiest heroes.

For those attending another showing in the near future, Howard can be spotted amongst the many warriors showing up when Doctor Strange, Wong, and the rest of the sorcerers start opening portals. When Hope Van Dyne is spotted, viewers should move their eyes to the blueish alien to her right, and then follow that character's gun downward. There's Howard, in the distance, looking a lot like he did in his cameo scene following Guardians of the Galaxy.

Howard's packing heat in lieu of a drink this time around, and he's looking poised to kick some Earth invader ass when the signal is given. His contributions beyond that are unknown, as he doesn't get a big action sequence to show what he's up to like other key characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Apparently, the Russos didn't find it pertinent to zero in on what one of the MCU's most bizarre characters was up to.

Here's the good news: There's still a chance we may learn what role Howard played in the battle. That's all thanks to an upcoming Howard The Duck television series which will feature the Marvel hero trapped on Earth. Provided this series takes place post-Avengers: Endgame, there's certainly an opportunity for the series to show that scene from Howard's perspective, or have him recall something from the event. Hell, this may even be the event that strands him on earth!

Whatever the case regarding the future series, it's been known that the Russos have wanted to include Howard in the action since Avengers: Infinity War. According to Joe Russo, the original idea was to have Peter Quill go to Howard and ask him about the whereabouts of an Infinity Stone while he was in the midst of a poker game. That would've been great to see, although one could argue this is better.

The real question now is, what was Howard The Duck up to before his arrival? The Russos confirmed he survived the snap, so there could be some deleted scene or one shot in the future that outlines what Howard was up to in the time between Infinity War and Endgame. If not, at least it's good to see him alongside the rest of the good guys, and possibly making a case to become a future Avenger?

Stick with CinemaBlend for more Avengers: Endgame analysis, and news on what is becoming a monumental box office run.

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Disneyland Is Teasing Big Changes For Spider-Man In Upcoming Attraction

Disneyland Is Teasing Big Changes For Spider-Man In Upcoming Attraction

Right now at Disneyland Resort construction is ongoing to transform a corner of Disney California Adventure into a new Marvel superhero themed space. We already knew that one of the new attractions would be focused on your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and now we have a bit of new information about the upcoming attraction, and it will apparently be used to create an all-new version of the character exclusive to Disney Parks.

Most of the new information we got from the Disney Parks Blog comes in the form of back story. We already knew that each Marvel themed area at the various Disney parks was designed to work like a local Avengers outpost for the education and training of new recruits. This will include, at both Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris, the creation of the Worldwide Engineering Brigade (or WEB, because Spider-pun) by Tony Stark. The purpose of WEB is to develop advancements in super powered technology, and the first assignment that WEB has been tasked with is creating new enhancements for Spider-Man's suit.

It's not clear what these new enhancements will be, but if they're truly "new" then we're talking about seeing Spider-Man with powers that we haven't seen him use in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or potentially even in the comics.

Exactly how this will work is not set out in detail but the idea of the attraction is clearly something interactive where guests will be able to help create these new powers, as such, there may be multiple different new abilities you can give the wall-crawler, perhaps with the idea being that you can go back to the attraction multiple times and create new powers.

Of course, it's also made clear that the goal of the attraction is to let guests engage with the superheroes and the super powers, so get ready to use these new abilities yourself.

In addition to the new attraction, Disney also revealed that a new walk around character for Spider-Man is coming to the parks who will be dressed in an original costume. The new design was created by Marvel Studios' Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding.

One of the questions I've had about the new Marvel land from the beginning was in what ways, if any, it would be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The one existing Marvel attraction at Disney California Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout, uses the cast of the films and the new Ant-Man and the Wasp attraction at Disneyland Hong Kong does the same. However, that doesn't necessarily mean these two parts of Marvel are connected. putting Spider-Man in an entirely originally designed costume in the parks would seem to indicate a separation between the two worlds.

That doesn't mean Tom Holland won't appear in the attraction, we don't know that for sure one way or another, but making the theme park universe it's own thing certainly opens things up and gives the storytellers more options.

This is the exact opposite idea of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, where it has been made clear the events that take place within the new land are as much canon as anything that happens in the movies.

In addition to the Spider-Man attraction we know that the new Marvel land will open next year in California with another attraction focused on Doctor Strange. An E-ticket ride focused on the Avengers will follow at some point in the future as apart of a second phase in the land.

Image Courtesy: Disney Parks Blog/Disney

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Will Smith Found The Aladdin Genie Backlash ‘Very Funny’

Will Smith Found The Aladdin Genie Backlash ‘Very Funny’

Although we got our first look at Will Smith’s Genie in the upcoming Aladdin remake last December, the character was rocking a normal human guise. It wasn’t until the special sneak that aired in February that the character was shown in all his blue glory. Well, maybe ‘glory’ isn’t the right word, as this look at the live action blue Genie was met with a lot of derision online, which included various memes and Photoshop manipulations, due to the quality of the CGI,

However, rather than be bothered or hurt by this backlash against Aladdin’s Genie, Will Smith actually found these reactions amusing. In his words:

It was very funny. There was a Sonic The Hedgehog / Genie frog. Everything is under such critical scrutiny. I came up in an era where there was no internet. It’s a new thing that I’m trying to get a handle on.

Will Smith does have a point. The internet as we know it wasn’t around when he was growing up, and even during the period when he was starring in hits like Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men in Black, the World Wide Web didn’t hold anywhere near the cultural influence it does now. Sure you might have come across some movie criticism, but that’s a far cry from someone using an Arrested Development screenshot to poke fun at the live action iteration of a Disney character only minutes after a new preview dropped.

Thing seem to have calmed down on the Genie front since then, particularly after a new Aladdin trailer dropped last month which included improved shots of Will Smith’s character. Director Guy Ritchie, who also spoke with Empire, noticed the turnaround on the reception towards Genie, saying:

It even came with apologies from the cynics who were so adamant initially. I’ve never seen apologies in that world. I thought, ‘Oh well, great, we’re back to where I’d hoped we’d be.'

Altogether, we’ve only glimpsed seconds of Genie from the Aladdin marketing, so we’ll have to wait until the movie actually comes out to see whether the VFX crew stuck the proverbial landing with his blue appearance or if there are still some noticeable issues. Either way, at least Will Smith was able to get a little joy out of the mockery his version of Genie went through rather than take it personally.

Rather than radically overhauling the story of its 1992 animated predecessor, Aladdin seems to be following in the footsteps of Beauty and the Beast and going the straightforward remake route, though obviously still with some differences. Along with Will Smith, the main cast includes Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as The Sultan, Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, Numan Acar as Hakim and Robby Haynes as Razoul, as well as Alan Tudyk voicing Iago and Frank Welker reprising Abu the monkey and the Cave of Wonders.

Aladdin will work its magic in theaters on May 24. If you’re curious about what other movies are coming out later this year, head to our 2019 release schedule for that information.

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What Drew Zoe Saldana And Zach Galifianakis To Laika Stop-Motion Animation

What Drew Zoe Saldana And Zach Galifianakis To Laika Stop-Motion Animation

This year there is no shortage of exciting family films coming to theaters, from the highly-anticipated return of Woody and Buzz in Toy Story 4 from Pixar or Disney’s sequel to Frozen during the holidays, to Illumination’s second take on looking inside The Secret Life of Pets and the many Disney live-action remakes, such as The Lion King. There's a lot to choose from!

Among them is Missing Link, the newest adventure for stop-motion animation studio, Laika. The company is fairly new to the game as the upcoming movie will be Laika’s fifth feature film after breaking out with 2009’s Coraline. The studio has quickly gained intrigue among audiences for its unique approach to filmmaking, whether that be through its innovative behind-the-scenes process (that is so detailed it will break your brain), touching stories or bold style.

During the Los Angeles press day for Missing Link, a couple of the stars told CinemaBlend just what it is about Laika that attracted them to voicing their new characters. First, here’s what Zach Galifianakis, who plays Susan the Sasquatch, said:

They’re doing kids entertainment in a very artistic way and a lot of times you don’t see that – a lot of kids stuff is one-dimensional, it’s flat, it’s very computer-generated cold images. This is very warm and there’s a texture to it, it’s almost like a painting.

When you think about it, this is true! While there are beautiful advancements happening in CGI animation everyday, there can be an overwhelmingly colorful feeling to it that leaves viewers looking into a video game-like atmosphere. Laika’s films bring a little something extra because the characters are actual puppets that are filmed on real sets masterfully produced in the studio. It’s a unique art form that deserves a certain appreciation that few animation companies are doing.

Zoe Saldana, who plays Adelina Fortnight, echoed some of Galifianakis’ sentiments along with adding in some love for Missing Link’s story as well. In her words:

The aesthetic of what stop motion truly is and how Laika is unfolding it is mesmerizing. Not to mention this is coated by a lovely story with amazing messages and complex character that are not the most likable characters in the beginning, but then end up becoming really amazing.

Take a look at Zach Galifianakis and Zoe Saldana discuss working with Laika from my interview below:

As the actress notes, what sets Missing Link apart from what other family-friendly studios deliver is its storytelling style which often goes outside of the box of the expected. For this adventure, each of the characters have their own quirks and flaws evident to the audience from the beginning. Hugh Jackman’s character of Lionel Frost for example is an adventurer with selfish motivations.

The trio of adventurers travel across the globe in hopes of finding Susan’s long-lost cousins, the Yeti in Missing Link out in theaters on April 12.

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Avengers: Endgame Red Carpet Censors Gwyneth Paltrow After Slipping Up With A Spoiler

Avengers: Endgame Red Carpet Censors Gwyneth Paltrow After Slipping Up With A Spoiler

If you’re a part of a superhero movie, then you always need to be careful about not revealing spoilers ahead of release. The cast of Avengers: Endgame, though, have had to work extra hard not to accidentally reveal anything to the public, and despite trying hard not to do so, Gwyneth Paltrow, a.k.a. the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Pepper Potts, accidentally let something slip, requiring the Marvel censors to get involved.

Gwyneth Paltrow was one of the many celebrities to attend the Avengers: Endgame world premiere yesterday, and while on the red carpet, she was asked about her final day of shooting, i.e. when she knew the endgame was indeed the endgame. She responded:

I have an indelible moment from filming. I don't know if it was the actual last day, but we were all together and shooting at this beautiful, on this beautiful lake in Atlanta, and it was amazing to be with everybody. The casts of multiple movies all at the same time...

The actress then looked to Iron Man director and Happy Hogan performer Jon Favreau and asked him if she could say that, prompting him to answer, “I don’t know,” which then led to her saying “Oh shit!” This moment can still be seen on the video presenting the full Avengers: Endgame red carpet event, but if you watch the video highlighting just Gwyneth Paltrow, the part where she mentions the casts of multiple movies has been cut out.

It’s obviously common knowledge that Avengers: Endgame has a stacked cast, from the original six of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to the likes of Captain Marvel and Ant-Man. However, Gwyneth Paltrow’s comment reveals that there will be a moment in Endgame that has the largest collection of MCU characters together ever, something that not even Avengers: Infinity War delivered last year.

How will this be accomplished? It likely involves all the characters who were dusted at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. All of those actors have played coy about whether or not their characters will actually be brought back to life, but it’s basically a given that most, if not all of the dusted heroes will be brought back, namely because folks like Spider-Man and Black Panther have sequels on the way. Once you throw them into the equation, such a huge gathering is possible, though that doesn’t make it any less cool to see on the big screen.

In the grand scheme of things, Gwyneth Paltrow’s comment is a minor slip-up at best, but Marvel doesn’t take any chances. The studio has been very keen on revealing as little as possible about Avengers: Endgame, to the point that Scarlett Johansson said that the press tour was making her lose sleep out of fear she said something she wasn’t supposed to.

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the first time time Gwyneth Paltrow has dropped a potential Avengers: Endgame spoiler. Last year, shortly after Avengers: Infinity War came out, she noted that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' relationship evolves to the point that they’re married and have a child. We already knew that the couple had nuptials on the calendar, but evidently these two will also be parents when we reunite with them.

All we know about Avengers: Endgame for certain is it will see the surviving Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and other heroes banding together to try and undo the genocide Thanos unleashed with the snap of his fingers. Their initial plan to accomplish this is to steal the Infinity Stones from the Mad Titan and harness their power for themselves, but we have no idea if the protagonists will be successful doing this, let alone what else is in store for the movie.

Avengers: Endgame finally bows in theaters on the evening of Thursday, April 25, but rest assured that we here at CinemaBlend will have plenty more coverage of the movie in the weeks to follow. For now, you can learn what the MCU’s future looks like by looking through our handy guide.

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Walt Disney World's April Fools Day Joke Is So Great I Wish It Was Real

Walt Disney World's April Fools Day Joke Is So Great I Wish It Was Real

You've got to be careful when you're checking out social media on April 1st, because there's a good chance a lot of what you're seeing isn't real. Unfortunately, the way a lot of April Fool's Day jokes get you is by telling you a story that you want to be real. That was the way that I felt when I first saw Walt Disney World's Twitter post this morning, revealing the newest addition to the park, a glorious combination of theme park merch and theme park food. Check out Snears.

While the attractions are always a major draw when it comes to visiting Walt Disney World, the importance of the food and gear cannot be overlooked. As such, it makes perfect sense to combine these two popular elements with Snears, which take the most popular piece of merchandise in the park, Mickey Mouse ears, and gives them cups which can be filled with your favorite park snack.

This is, of course, not real. It's an April Fool's Day joke. As somebody who writes news for a living, I sort of hate this day with a deep passion. However, I can get behind a joke like this, because it's clearly and obviously a joke. You might be taken in for a brief instant, but then you realize that if these things were real they'd be ridiculous. It's just a funny thing that Disney Parks did, as opposed to something truly meant to fool you. Although, if, in that brief moment, you considered buying a pair of Snears, you might not feel like this is a very nice joke.

Putting a pair of turkey legs in your ears might sound awesome, but actually walking around with them in there isn't feasible. The weight distribution is so uneven they'd obviously fall out. Filling them with popcorn might work slightly better, as long as you don't look down at your phone to confirm your upcoming FastPass+ reservation, because then it's all coming out. It's a shame that this isn't practical because sometimes you want to carry your favorite snack while also keeping your hands free to take pictures or while checking out the gift shop.

Although, I do like the idea that the band is supposed to be refrigerated, because keeping cold Dole Whip on your head might actually work out ok, and it would be nice to have it available whenever you needed it. I could use some right now.

While Snears might not be practical, that doesn't make them less fun. The essential premise, that Mickey Mouse ears and Walt Disney World food are two essential parts of any vacation to the park, is absolutely true. My biggest problem when visiting Disney World or Disneyland isn't that I might not have enough time to experience all the attractions I want, it's that my stomach isn't big enough to eat all the food that I want. There are simply too many great restaurants and too many tasty snacks worth checking out.

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Samuel L Jackson Picks His Favorite Scene He’s Ever Been In

Samuel L Jackson Picks His Favorite Scene He’s Ever Been In

Samuel L. Jackson has been known by too many iconic names on the big screen to count between his six roles with Quentin Tarantino, time as Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequels, Frozone in Incredibles, MCU regular, Nick Fury. We all have our favorite Jackson moment, but there is one so astonishing that even the actor himself can’t argue against. When asked about his favorite scene, here’s what he said:

I guess it would be actually the ultimate scene that everybody turns out to love so much, and it’s the diner scene in Pulp Fiction. Everybody loved the killing ones, but the diner scene, just because there’s so much going on when John [Travolta] and I are sitting there having that conversation prior to what happened, and the bullets not killing us, and he’s making this decision about walking the earth just to see what’s going on. So by the time Tim [Roth] gets there and I have an opportunity to do that speech again, the same speech that I’ve been killing people with, and make it make sense in a whole ’nother kind of way, and, one, it’s just the biggest threat you’ve ever heard in your life. And the next, the dude’s like sitting there making a revelation about who he is and where his place is in the world, and who he actually is. He said, ‘I’d love to be the shepherd, and that would be great.’ They said that they didn’t know how the movie was supposed to end until I did that scene. But they had no idea that that’s what all that shit meant until I did it.

I mean there’s really no other answer. That closing scene in Pulp Fiction is classic and showcases the 70-year-old actor's best work. In the 1994 Tarantino film, Samuel L. Jackson plays Jules Winnfield, a contract killer who has memorized the Bible passage Ezekiel 25:17 and recites it to his targets before killing them.

After surviving a couple hundred bullets flying at him and John Travolta’s Vincent Vega, Jules tells Vincent that he takes their survival as a sign for him to turn away from his life of crime, just before a couple of robbers stick up the diner and Jules is faced with another excuse to recite his iconic speech. This time it goes a little bit differently and finds a much deeper meaning. Check it out:

It’s good every time! It’s no wonder Samuel L. Jackson brought up this scene as the favorite of his during a recent interview with Esquire. As he tells the magazine, the speech gives the audience meaning to the lines he says throughout the movie along with the character, as Jules breaks it down for Tim Roth’s character, changes his ways and doesn’t pull the trigger. Jackson also points out that his performance in the scene informed the filmmakers about how they were going to end Pulp Fiction and it really wraps up the film perfectly.

The scene has stuck with the actor so much that he once recited the lines from the passage word-for-word on The Graham Norton Show from memory and it was incredible. It’s clear the iconic role has stuck with Samuel L. Jackson just as much as it has for audiences. Pulp Fiction is regarded as one of the best films ever made and Jackson undoubtedly contributed to its status.

Samuel L. Jackson is certainly one of the most prolific and influential actors of our time at 70 years old and he is still hard at work, making movies. He currently stars in Captain Marvel in his biggest performance as Nick Fury yet. Much like Pulp Fiction, the Marvel film is set in the ‘90s and the filmmakers couldn’t even help but sprinkle in some references to it.

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Halloween’s Danny McBride Was Scared John Carpenter Would Laugh In His Face When Pitching The Sequel

Halloween’s Danny McBride Was Scared John Carpenter Would Laugh In His Face When Pitching The Sequel

Picture having the opportunity to meet your greatest cinematic idol - in particular the director of your favorite film of all time. Now imagine that meeting being the opportunity for you to pitch said creator on a new film to continue the classic's legacy. That's exactly the scenario in which Halloween co-writer Danny McBride found himself in the making of the recent horror blockbuster, and while his concept eventually won out, he was seriously afraid of John Carpenter treating him like a young punk. McBride recently offered his account of the encounter, saying,

I don’t think in my head I ever thought we’d actually be able to make the film, so it became very real when we started walking up the front steps of John Carpenter’s office. I think I turned to David [Gordon Green], and it was just this panic moment of realization of like, 'We’re about to meet John Carpenter, and one of our heroes of filmmaking could quite possibly laugh in our face.' And John just kind of said, ‘Alright, let’s hear it,’ and just wanted us to get down to business.

You could imagine the pressure on Danny McBride and Halloween co-writer/director David Gordon Green, as they were walking into a meeting with the man who created the epic horror that is Michael Myers. With a reputation for not suffering fools, John Carpenter can be intimidating to those who don't know what they're doing. Lucky for them, and the rest of the world, they knew exactly what they were doing.

As David Gordon Green explained to Vice during a paired interview with his fellow filmmaker, he and Danny McBride had a clear vision in mind when it came to the Halloween sequel they wanted to make. This was shown in their decision to ignore every single sequel in the series, as they wanted to be the only sequel to John Carpenter's 1978 original. Such a choice not only gave audiences something new and fresh to look forward to, it gave the series a new lease on life; one that Carpenter clearly appreciated, given his ultimate involvement with the project as a producer and composer. Considering his history with the franchise only extended to writing Halloween II and producing Halloween III: Season of the Witch, it's not a huge shocker that he was okay with the bulk of everything else being junked.

All it took to win over John Carpenter for Halloween's 2018 sequel was two things: a chance to indulge in his passion for music, via the film's score, and the opportunity to set the franchise's history straight. Danny McBride and David Gordon Green gave him both opportunities, and the rest is now noteworthy cinema history.

Whether any potential follow ups past this point will have that much luck remains unknown. But for now we at least have two Halloween films that John Carpenter personally approves of - both now available on home video for your personal enjoyment.

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John Wick 3's Big Spoiler Scene Caused A Bunch Of Challenges

John Wick 3's Big Spoiler Scene Caused A Bunch Of Challenges

The following contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.

The newest installment of the John Wick franchise once again puts the title character through hell. He's set upon by another army of assassins trying to kill him and he must fight them off almost entirely alone, and while Wick has proven resilient, he hasn't made it this far without some scars. However, the biggest injury John Wick has yet sustained comes in John Wick Chapter 3 - Parabellum, and it's an injury that caused problems not just for the character, but also the production of the movie itself.

Without diving too deep into spoiler territory, John Wick sustains a serious injury to his left hand, one that required the use of CGI in order to recreate the damage any time you saw Keanu Reeves left hand throughout the rest of the movie.

The problem is that Keanu Reeves is left-handed, which meant that a not insignificant amount of money was going to need to be spent on CGI for the new movie because you were going to be seeing that hand a lot. According to director Chad Stahelski...

No one creatively saw a problem with it, but it comes down to a simple matter of financials. Without giving away the spoiler, you saw it; you know what he does. That’s on his lead hand. You have a left-handed actor who’s just deformed his left hand and that left hand is in every shot of the third act of the movie. VFX wise, there’s a cost associated with that. There’s logistical problems and practical filming that are associated with that. The studio does their job of questioning my visions and my methods to see if I really like it

It seems that Lionsgate, the studio behind the John Wick franchise, had to at least ask the director if this decision was really a necessary one. While it was understood from a story perspective, movies are a commercial venture after all, and so cost is always going to be a concern. According to THR, The director apparently had to make concessions in the budget in other places in order to make sure the money was there to handle the CGI costs.

For whatever it's worth, odds are that the studio probably doesn't mind the additional CGI costs as much right now. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum had the biggest opening in the franchise history this past weekend, and a fourth film has already been green lit. Of course, most of John Wick: Chapter 4 is going to be that much more expensive because the injury in question won't be healing in the next movie, so the next film will need to use CGI for the entire run.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is in theaters now.

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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.

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ReelBlend #70: Talking Rocketman, Kingsmen And X-Men With Matthew Vaughn

ReelBlend #70: Talking Rocketman, Kingsmen And X-Men With Matthew Vaughn

Another episode, another week where ReelBlend co-host Jake Hamilton is in England.

This time, Jake’s on his own, covering the new Danny Boyle film Yesterday, but he still found time to join Sean for episode #70 of the ReelBlend podcast.

It’s just two of the guys this week, as Kevin’s on vacation on a remote island somewhere. So Sean and Jake dove into the news of the week, starting with that trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate. Have you seen it yet? It looks like this:

Staying on the theme of old sci-fi properties getting resuscitated, Jake and Sean shift to the story of Sir Ridley Scott entertaining the notion of continuing his Alien franchise now that Fox is over at Disney. Jake’s all for it, while Sean is done with that saga, completely.

Sean saw Aladdin over the Memorial Day weekend, and gives his review of Guy Ritchie’s live-action musical. The guys both saw Netflix’s The Perfection, and they weigh in on that, as well.

But the big get for Episode #70 was a candid conversation with Rocketman producer Matthew Vaughn, who helped get Taron Egerton cast as Elton John and also kind of helped seal the movie’s deal because of the friendship he made with Sir Elton while collaborating with him on Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The prolific producer opens up with ReelBlend about the making of Rocketman, the future of his own Kingsmen universe, and his thoughts on Marvel now owning X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

Give this week’s episode a listen right now!

ReelBlend is a weekly podcast that we do on CinemaBlend. You can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us.

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media! We have an official Twitter feed for the show, so follow @ReelBlend. In addition, follow the guys at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV.

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Avengers: Endgame’s Directors Admit To Adding Extra Footage To Trailers

Avengers: Endgame’s Directors Admit To Adding Extra Footage To Trailers

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the biggest franchises in film history, with a shopping 21 movies dropped in the decade and change since Iron Man arrived on the scene. Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame are the cumulation of those blockbusters, as The Russo Brothers balanced the large ensemble cast for a set of movies with equal parts action and heart.

Aside from the scheduling and storytelling challenges that come with handling such a behemoth pair of movies, The Russo Brothers had to deal with another challenge: how do you market the films without giving away too much? Endgame has only released very brief clips, and once Infinity War hit theaters, there were some shots from the trailer that were noticeably missing from the final cut. Now the brothers have admitted to padding trailers with extra footage, with Joe Russo saying:

We talked about all scales of marketing. The thing that’s most important to us is that we preserve the surprise of the narrative. When I was a kid and saw The Empire Strikes Back at 11am on the day it opened…It so profoundly moved me because I didn’t know a damn thing about the story I was going to watch. We’re trying to replicate that experience.

Tricky move, Russos! In an attempt to keep the secrets of the third and fourth Avengers movies, their marketing material included some footage to throw the fandom off. As such, audiences can have the full experience in theaters, and the blockbusters can have the maximum emotional impact.

Joe Russo's comments to Empire Magazine confirm a long standing fan theory about Infinity War and Endgame. Specifically, the the trailers include footage that serve as red herrings to the film's true contents. Just look at Infinity War's massive trailer. One of the most iconic shots from the marketing shows the Avengers running toward their enemy in the Battle of Wakanda, including The Hulk. But the big green guy was almost completely absent from the final cut, as he refused to resurface after getting beaten by Thanos in the opening scene.

Eventually Bruce Banner donned the Hulkbuster armor to fight against Thanos' forces, and it was obvious that the Infinity War trailer was selling a false bill of goods. This allowed for the subplot surrounding Bruce Banner and The Hulk's dysfunctional relationship was one of the many surprises that the blockbuster brought to theaters.

It should be interesting to see how the Avengers: Endgame trailers ultimately relate to the film's final product. The marketing material for the blockbuster has been pretty sparse, as Marvel Studios was focusing on the release of Captain Marvel. The public still doesn't have an inkling regarding what the film's main plot will entail, as things have been kept purposefully vague in the trailers. Instead, the footage sets up the tone of the movie, and just how bleak things are in the wake of Thanos' finger snap of death.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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Detective Pikachu Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

Detective Pikachu Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

After over two decades of video games, trading cards and animated TV shows and movies, Pokemon is finally making the jump to the live action realm with Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. The movie is arriving in theaters this weekend, but as is usually the case, numerous critics were able to see the movie early. Following the initial social media reactions, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu reviews are now pouring in, and the reception towards the first live action Pokemon movie is fairly mixed.

Starting, CinemaBlend’s own Dirk Libbey had a more mixed view towards Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, giving it 3 stars out of 5 stars in his review and saying that while you don’t need to be a Pokemon expert to enjoy the movie, it doesn’t hurt. Dirk complimented the look of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, but noted that it’s filled with over-exposition about details concerning each major Pokemon, and the story leaves a lot to be desired, though it’s clear that Ryan Reynolds had a lot of fun voicing the titular Pikachu.

… While exposition is ham-handed and motivations are far from clear, there's a charm in Detective Pikachu that is undeniable. Seeing these creatures come to life is going to be a blast for fans, and while some of the references to the franchise might be lost on non-fans, Ryan Reynolds' charisma combined with seeing one lovingly crafted Pokemon creature after another will likely carry you through.

AV Club’s Jesse Hassenger was also more critical towards Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, giving it a C-. In Jesse’s opinion, the movie fails to effectively mix the classic Pokemon mythology with noir tropes, which is especially unfortunate for Kathryn Newton’s Lucy Stevens. Ultimately, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu “settles into the generic rhythms of a second-tier ’80s cop movie—in other words, noir for dummies,” though the Pokemon at least look good in their “half-realistic, half-cartoony CG.”

The movie tries to sound like a comedy (especially when Reynolds is talking), look like a noir, and act like a big summer blockbuster. It ends up a whole lot of cute, branded nothing—watchable junk for young adults of tomorrow to look back on with inordinate fondness.

On the more positive end of the spectrum, Dan Casey from Nerdist gave Pokemon: Detective Pikachu 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a “super effective” story that helps break the video game movie curse. Boasting “eticulous visual effects wizardry, a delightfully dry sense of humor, and an abiding love of pulp and noir,” Pokemon: Detective Pikachu gives audiences a world where these Pocket Monsters feel like “living, breathing creatures.”

While Detective Pikachu doesn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of storytelling, it has managed the seemingly impossible of creating a deeply satisfying and fully realized world based on something with so much fan expectation and preconceived notions attached to it.

Back to mixed territory, Empire’s Olly Richards stamped Pokemon: Detective Pikachu with 3 out of 5 stars. In Olly’s eyes, the movie’s plotting is “pretty shoddy,” in that it doesn’t clearly establish the rules of Pokemon and full of characters monologuing about what’s happening and what will happen. The saving grace is Ryan Reynolds’ performance as Pikachu, as his lines are “sharp, silly and knowing.”

It’s impossible to overstate how much this film owes to Ryan Reynolds. Even if you don’t understand Pikachu’s world, everyone can understand a great joke superbly delivered.

Chris Nashawaty from Entertainment Weekly gave Pokemon: Detective Pikachu a C+, calling it “narratively incoherent to the point of being almost avant-garde.” If you’re already a Pokemon fan, you’ll appreciate the movie much more than someone going in with barely any familiarity with the franchise.

As the wisecracking voice of Pikachu, Ryan Reynolds deserves some sort of special citation for doing the best he can without Deadpool’s f-bombs (or a decent script) to lean on. But the main problem is that the film’s gumball-mayhem plot is so frenetic that it’s impossible to determine if it makes a lick of sense. Maybe that was the point.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Michael Rechtshaffen was among the critics who took a more positive stance on Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, saying that writer/director Rob Letterman’s “energetic direction,” Ryan Reynolds’ “world-weary” Pikachu and Justice Smith’s “necessarily reactive performance” are just enough to make this an enjoyable cinematic offering.

Those anticipating another Golden Raspberry-worthy contender like last year’s The Happytime Murders, another spoof of classic pulp fiction, can park their preconceived notions at the door. It turns out Pokemon Detective Pikachu isn’t half bad.

Finally, IGN’s Joshua Yehl awarded Pokemon: Detective Pikachu an 8 out of 10 score, complementing how well animated the Pokemon are and how they feel like a “natural part of the world.” The storytelling “isn’t entirely up to par,” but this is somewhat balanced out by a “layered sense of humor” that’s willing to poke fun at itself and paves the way for some deep-cut references.

Detective Pikachu mixes humor, heart, and gloriously-rendered Pokémon to deliver a simple yet entertaining time.

These are just a sampling of the Pokemon: Detective Pikachu reviews available now, so feel free to read what other people thought of the movie elsewhere on the internet. However, working off these examples, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu falls right in the middle when it comes to critical reception. There’s definitely enough for longtime Pokemon fans to enjoy, and some newbies might also be entertained, but there are definitely various issues that prevent this movie from being exceptional.

Looking to the commercial side of things, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu was predicted last month to open between $75-$90 million, so it won’t be much longer until we learn whether it meets, exceeds or falls short of those expectations. Assuming it is a critical success, Warner Bros already has a Detective Pikachu sequel in the works, and there’s the potential for this film series to evolve into a cinematic universe.

You can judge Pokemon: Detective Pikachu for yourself starting this weekend, but if you’re more curious about what movies will be arriving later in 2019, you can look through our handy release schedule for that information. Be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any updates concerning the future of Pokemon on the silver screen.

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New Mortal Kombat Movie Gets A Release Date, And Some Powerful Competition

New Mortal Kombat Movie Gets A Release Date, And Some Powerful Competition

It seems like a feature film reboot of Mortal Kombat has been talked about for a long time, and even once James Wan was brought aboard to produce a few years ago, it still seemed like it was quite a ways off. Then few days ago, we heard that the new Mortal Kombat had finally started pre-production. Now we know when Mortal Kombat will arrive and the powerful competition it will face when it does.

According to Variety, Warner Bros. has picked March 5, 2021 as the date the next Mortal Kombat tournament begins in theaters. In keeping with the spirit of the property, Mortal Kombat is ready to fight some formidable competition -- because just days ago, it was announced that March 5, 2021 is also the new release date for the latest Masters of the Universe adaptation.

Masters of the Universe was at one point supposed to release this year, but that obviously isn’t happening. Now the Sony film from directors Adam and Aaron Nee and starring Netflix heartthrob Noah Centineo as He-Man will arrive in 2021. It will do battle with producer James Wan’s Mortal Kombat, which is being directed by Australian director Simon McQuoid, who has done commercial work for popular video games including Halo and Call of Duty.

Other films with their flag planted on March 5, 2021 are the animated Nimona and an Untitled Universal Event Film. The latter may make this one-on-one fight into a triple threat depending what it is, but at the moment the story of March two years from now will be Mortal Kombat testing its might against Masters of the Universe.

It’s an interesting bout given that both properties hold nostalgic sentiment for kids of the '80s and '90s. Both properties have also had previous feature film adaptations. The 1980s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was adapted into Masters of the Universe starring Dolph Lundgren in 1987, and Midway’s video game series, which first debuted in 1992, received a feature film in 1995. That film is still held up as one of the best video game adaptations to date.

Anecdotally, I think Mortal Kombat has maintained more cultural relevance and awareness than Masters of the Universe and that may help it in this fight. In fact, the latest Mortal Kombat video game, Mortal Kombat 11, was just released to rave reviews back in April.

We don’t know much about either film yet, and neither directing team -- Aaron and Adam Nee vs. Simon McQuoid -- has enough of a track record to say one film has the competitive advantage creatively. I will be curious to see if Mortal Kombat goes the R-rated route, as its bloody source material would dictate and many fans might hope for. That would certainly impact its chances to defeat the almost assuredly PG-13 Masters of the Universe.

Of course, two years from now is a long time and it is entirely possible that one of these films will blink and seek greener pastures elsewhere on the calendar. Regardless of ratings, I feel these two films are essentially competing for the same millennial audience and would probably be better served not cannibalizing each other. Because whoever wins, it won’t be a flawless victory.

With pre-production beginning soon and filming starting later this year, hopefully we’ll begin to hear more details about Mortal Kombat, like which characters will be showing up and who will be playing them.

Mortal Kombat looks to fatality Masters of the Universe when both open in theaters on March 5, 2021. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see all of this year’s biggest movies and let us know in the poll below what ticket you’ll be buying in 2021.

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The Story Behind Endgame And Natalie Portman

The Story Behind Endgame And Natalie Portman

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame!

Avengers: Endgame truly lived up to its billing as the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to this point, providing plenty of callbacks and many surprising cameos. Perhaps most surprising among those cameos was Natalie Portman as Dr. Jane Foster, who hasn’t been seen in the MCU since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. However, this cameo was not all it appeared to be, as directors Joe and Anthony Russo explained:

Anthony: All she did new for this movie was-

Joe: The voice.

Anthony: A little bit of voice-over when she’s talking in the distance, that’s it.

Although we see Natalie Portman as Jane Foster in Avengers: Endgame, she didn’t actually show up to play the character again. Her appearance in the film was just old footage left over from Thor: The Dark World that was repurposed for the movie; the actress didn’t film any new scenes. She did, however, provide some voiceover for Avengers: Endgame, as the Russo’s told Entertainment Weekly.

In the film, there are shots of Jane Foster in the distance with some Asgardians, and Natalie Portman recorded voiceover of her character thanking them for taking care of her. It’s not easy to even hear what she’s saying, but it adds some background to the scene, showing that this is all happening in a living, breathing place. It’s also nice to know that it’s actually Natalie Portman’s voice we’re hearing.

Natalie Portman had indicated in the past that she believed she was done with the MCU; she didn't appear in Thor: Ragnarok and given reports that she was not happy with the situation that led to Patty Jenkins leaving as director of Thor: The Dark World, it seemed unlikely she’d ever be in a Marvel movie again.

So when Natalie Portman showed up to the premiere of Avengers: Endgame, fans wondered whether or not the actress had returned to the fold and if the long absent Jane Foster would be in the movie. It turns out she did and she was, just not in any major way.

In Avengers: Endgame, the shot where Jane gets up from her bed and Rocket Raccoon goes after her to extract the Aether off-screen was framed rather oddly. And since we didn’t see her and Rocket or her and Thor together, I think many of us assumed that Natalie Portman didn’t really film any new scenes and her appearance was either old footage or digital wizardry.

It would have been nice for her to actually see Thor again to close out that story, especially given that she survived the snap and how he was weeping over her in the Time Heist prep meeting. But it’s better than nothing, and Thor didn’t want to be there and probably didn’t want Jane to see him in his dilapidated state.

Thor did, however, see his mother Frigga in one of the film’s more emotional moments. She died before the Decimation and he was never getting her back, so their reunion and the God of Thunder getting the wisdom from his mother he so desperately needed arguably had more meaning than a reunion with Jane.

Still, it was nice to see Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster back in the MCU if only to remind us of how she played a big part in Thor’s early entry into the human realm. It’s also cool that the relationship between Natalie Portman and Marvel has thawed enough that she recorded the voiceover and showed up to the premiere. I wouldn’t expect this means that Jane Foster's Thor is coming in Phase 4, but you never know.

Avengers: Endgame is now playing. If you haven’t seen it, why did you read this article? And if you’re going to see it again, and why wouldn’t you, make sure you know what ticket to buy. Also, check out our 2019 Release Schedule to learn about all the other big movies coming this summer.

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Watch Brie Larson Lose Her Mind Over Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Watch Brie Larson Lose Her Mind Over Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Brie Larson may be best known for playing Captain Marvel in the MCU, but the Oscar-winning actress is also a huge fan of Disney’s other major franchise: Star Wars. So the actress was as excited as all the rest of the Star Wars fans for the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and she wasn’t afraid to show it. Check out Brie Larson losing her mind over Galaxy’s Edge in the video below:

Brie Larson clearly wasn’t worried about remaining buttoned up for the cameras around her, and completely geeked out being at Galaxy’s Edge and immersed in the a galaxy far, far away. The actress was all smiles, looking totally thrilled and living in the moment within the park. And if her face weren’t so recognizable she’d be indistinguishable from any other lucky fan visiting Disney’s newest feat of Imagineering magic.

Part of the beauty of Disney’s theme parks is that whether you’re a kid on the first visit or an adult going to an attraction like Galaxy’s Edge for the first time, the experience is the same. You are overwhelmed by the moment and have your head (and camera) on a swivel, looking all around to take everything in, delighting in the sights and sounds and with an ear-to-ear smile that can’t be wiped off your face.

That is exactly what we see from Brie Larson here at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and as good of an actress as she is, her enthusiasm here is no act.

This video from THR writer Ryan Parker’s Twitter account seems to have been taken during the Dedication Ceremony for the new land that took place last week. The ceremony was held in front of the Millennium Falcon in the Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu and was attended by a group of Disney and Star Wars luminaries like no other.

At the dedication of the park were Disney CEO and Chairman Bob Iger, the creator George Lucas, Lando Calrissian actor Billy Dee Williams, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill and appropriately, Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford. Even Chewbacca showed up in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon and the ceremony ended with a fireworks display.

Seeing all of those people who played such beloved characters standing in front of the Millennium Falcon had to be a truly surreal experience. How could you not geek out if you’re a Star Wars fan?

Brie Larson wasn’t the only famous name to get a chance to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge though. Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson also got to go and called the park “freakin unbelievable” and even praised the taste of the green milk.

CinemaBlend’s own Dirk Libbey also got to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and he was thrilled with the massive park’s level of immersion, although he did have some qualms with the Millennium Falcon ride. Dirk also said that building your own lightsaber at Galaxy’s Edge is worth the ridiculous amount of Galactic Credits it will cost you.

You can judge for yourself because Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is now open and apparently the lines aren’t too bad. If you can’t make it there yet, you can still visit a galaxy far, far away this year when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters on December 20.

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Sebastian Stan Says He Was Tricked By Avengers: Endgame's Fake Scripts

Sebastian Stan Says He Was Tricked By Avengers: Endgame's Fake Scripts

The following potentially contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame**, but will not reveal specific information.**

For a major blockbuster tentpole movie like Avengers: Endgame, there's nothing worse than spoilers. If people know what happens in a movie they may be less inclined to go see it, and fans prefer to be surprised, and so those spoilers are guarded like nothing else. Marvel even goes so far as to create fake scripts to prevent the truth from leaking out, and it seems that Sebastian Stan got taken in by that.

The actor, who plays Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and he admitted that for one key scene that he was in, he was told the scene was something completely other than what it actually was. According to Stan...

I was told it was a wedding, that there was a wedding we were filming. And I was like, ‘Who’s getting married?’ But everybody was dressed very formal, and I was looking around, and then two people weren’t there. So I guess that was the bride and the groom.

If you've seen Avengers: Endgame, then you know exactly what Sebastian Stan is referring to here. If you haven't, then it only needs to be said the movie contains a scene where several MCU characters are dressed formally for an event. While Sebastian Stan was told his character was attending a wedding, that's not actually what's happening.

Sebastian Stan himself admits he thought the idea of a wedding seemed odd, he had no clue who would be getting married, but it seems it wasn't until later, possibly even the first time he saw the movie, that he realized that wasn't the case.

It shows to just what an extent Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers were going to make sure everything in the film remained secret. Sebastian Stan doesn't have the reputation of a Tom Holland or a Mark Ruffalo. He's not known for giving away the game. And yet, he wasn't trusted with the truth of the scene. He wasn't even told the general information of the event that was actually taking place, nevermind the specifics.

One assumes that several other people in the same scene are standing there thinking they're at a wedding. It's one thing to not really know what you're doing when you're part of a major green screen CGI battle, but there are no digital effects at this moment. It's just a shot of people standing around, and yet the actors on screen are as clueless as to what the reality is as when they're fighting Thanos by looking at a tennis ball on a stick.

Check out Sebastian Stan's full comments on The Tonight Show in the clip below.

Of course, now that Sebastian Stan has seen the movie, he could spoil things, but he's being careful not to do so. The gloves may be coming off soon, however. The Russo Brothers say that after two weekends of a movie's release, spoilers become fair game, so if you still haven't seen Avengers: Endgame after this weekend, you may need to start being extra careful.

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This Rotten Week: Predicting Detective Pikachu, The Hustle, Poms, And Tolkien Reviews

This Rotten Week: Predicting Detective Pikachu, The Hustle, Poms, And Tolkien Reviews

We’ve got four movies coming out this week with themes that are all over the map. A cartoon character solves crimes, two ladies work a con game, some senior citizens go rah-rah, and there’s a famous author’s biopic. Get ready for Pokemon Detective Pikachu, The Hustle, Poms, and Tolkien.

Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at This Rotten Week has to offer.

A live-action Pokemon movie based around the video game/cartoon of the same name really seems like it should be a massive failure - something meant for only the superfans of the franchise or perhaps mindless youths. But they might have actually pulled something off with Detective Pikachu. It’s a buddy cop film, pairing a rather unsuspecting kid sleuth with an adorable Pikachu as they work to solve a mystery.

Director and screenwriter Rob Letterman seems to be taking Pikachu into a more funny direction with this film, and it seemingly makes for a movie that looks like it actually works. Letterman has a couple of wins with Goosebumps (77%) and Monsters vs. Aliens (73%), but also a bit miss in Gulliver’s Travels (20%). Critics are mostly positive about his latest, with the Tomatometer sitting at 70% with 37 reviews posted. Maybe it ticks down a little, but this already seems like a critical surprise.

If there's a lesson I learned from the trailer for The Hustle, it's that if you want to take power from someone, you should just run a couple of cons on them and bilk them out of all their cash. Apparently that's how you beat the bad dudes - by hitting them where it hurts the most.

It’s hard to know where critics are going to land on this movie. On the one hand, we have two great actresses in Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson carrying the comedic load and that could be enough to get the job done. On the other hand, this is a movie about two (probably) unsympathetic con-artists whose freedom comes from scamming rich dudes out of their fortunes. Ultimately comedies like this really don't seem to fall in the critics' favor, and I suspect that this remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ends up on the rotten side.

Movies like Poms are generally made to appeal to a specific demographic: namely older women who don't typically get to see themselves properly represented on the big screen all that often. That being said, it's not exactly a demographic that dominates the world of film criticism, so I don't suspect that a ton of them will be going gaga over this one

Poms centers on a group of women at a retirement community who form a cheerleading squad, and watching the trailer I was initially concerned that the whole thing would feel too hokey. And then it took a turn for the sentimental and empowering, and I think it might have actually sold me. I'm not sure an overwhelming majority of critics will feel the same way, but a song by Pink playing in the background and a story of strength in spite of age has me more bullish on the film than I might have otherwise been.

At this point, most know the story of Blibo and Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gangee, Gandalf, and the rest of the folks in Middle-earth. Those dudes have had their stories told to the tune of billions of book and movie dollars. Tolkien, however, works to tell the story of the storyteller. The movie centers on J.R.R. Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult), and informs audiences about his fellowship of friends, how he found the love of his life, and the war that haunted him to the point that he was inspired to write both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

As compelling as this story seems, critics are really mixed on the output so far. Tolkien is sitting at 53% currently, with more than 30 reviews posted. The opinions about the title are definitely wide-ranging, from “loved it” to “hated it.” This really appears to be polarizing among the critical crowd. Some loved the artistic look at Tolkien’s early life, while others don't appreciate the tone and lead performance. It really is all over the map, making me think the score winds up in the middle when it’s all said and done.

I went four for four last week, which was definitely an awesome showing for This Rotten Week. Long Shot (Predicted: 85% Actual: 83%) was almost dead on, and with a couple of more positive reviews we might find this one right on the nose. Though this movie finished very high on the Tomatometer, many of the reviews were mildly apologetic and focused a bit more on the performances than on the actual script. That being said, this is still a huge win for a comedy to finish this high.

Meanwhile Uglydolls (Predicted: 42% Actual: 35%) finished a little lower than predicted, but still within range. Animated flicks can crush it with critics when the story is tight and there are enough laughs for the adults. This movie apparently had neither. It was fairly clear from the trailer that they were working on a thin, commercial premise that focused mostly on the songs.

El Chicano (Predicted: 48% Actual: 40%) almost fell out of range, but this vigilante movie about a cop taking on a mythic persona and laying waste to the Latin gang world was just good enough to be considered a Rotten Week win. This seems like one of those films destined to be a fun watch on basic cable in about two years. There are worse fates for poorly-reviewed action movies.

Finally, The Intruder (Predicted: 35% Actual: 27%) was predictably bad. The story of a deranged dude who doesn’t want to let go of his house even though the closing papers are fully signed just didn’t have the legs with critics. This was easy to see from a mile away.

Next time we’ve got John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, A Dog’s Journey, and The Sun Is Also A Star. It’s gonna be a Rotten Week!

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Former Bond Girl Halle Berry Has Some Suggestions For Who Should Replace Daniel Craig

Former Bond Girl Halle Berry Has Some Suggestions For Who Should Replace Daniel Craig

The next James Bond movie is currently in production and Daniel Craig is on board to play the role one more time, but once the film is over, the world will need a new James Bond. Dozens of names have been thrown around, dating back to before Craig confirmed his return. Everybody has an opinion, and that includes former Bond girl Halle Berry.

The Die Another Day actress was asked on Today who she would like see take on the iconic role after Daniel Craig steps down. She's got a pair of gentlemen she'd like to see, saying...

I’d want to see Hugh Jackman or Idris Elba. I would go for him.

Halle Berry would probably have a lot of support when it came to either of these two names. Idris Elba's name has been rumored as a Bond possibility for quite some time, there were even rumors at various points that he was in talks to take the part, but Elba continuously denied those reports.

As far as Hugh Jackman goes, we know the actor had a shot at auditioning for the role back when it was last available, but turned down auditioning because he was already working on the X-Men franchise and didn't want to get buried in two major film series at once. It's unclear if he would be at all interested now that he's done playing Logan.

If there's one major stumbling block to either of Halle Berry's choices here, it's probably age. Daniel Craig is currently 51 years old. Hugh Jackman is only a year younger than that and Elba is only slightly behind at 46. When Craig was cast he was in his late 30s and one assumes that the plan would be to cast an actor at that age, if not younger, so that they can make several more movies over the next decade or so.

Still, there's no reason James Bond couldn't be an older character. In the same way that some have campaigned to see James Bond change race or gender because, in addition to the benefit of opening up the character to a more diverse cast, it would also open up the stories that could be told, allowing James Bond to age could potentially do the same thing.

Halle Berry is potentially also one of the people interested in seeing James Bond change genders. When she's initially asked who she'd like to see take over the James Bond role, she says "a woman." While she laughs it off at first and claims she was joking, many who have suggested the same thing haven't been joking.

We almost certainly won't hear anything about the future of James Bond until after Bond 25 is released. The studio won't want to suck all the air out of the new film, so even if a replacement is already being considered, and there's no way to know if that's the case, it will likely be at least a year, and probably much longer, before we know who the next James Bond will be.

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A Timeline For The Conjuring Universe

A Timeline For The Conjuring Universe

We’ve seen many film franchises try to launch cinematic universes in the last decade, but few have been as immensely successful as what has been built with The Conjuring Universe. The ball started rolling in 2013 with the massively successful James Wan film that gave the brand its name, and while there weren’t really initial ambitions to create something bigger, everything changed when John Leonetti’s Annabelle turned into a $250 million global hit one year later. Since then the spooky world has grown and grown, and by the end of 2019 it will have seven titles in canon.

With all that growth can come a little confusion, however, as each new release is set in a different time period and has specific connections to previous stories. It’s in aim of eliminating that confusion that we’ve built this feature. In hopes of helping fans fully grasp the breadth of The Conjuring Universe, we’ve put together this timeline to both linearly illustrate the events we’ve seen so far, and show how the titles link to one another. So without further ado, let’s start at the start by taking a step back in time to the 1950s…

The Nun

Setting: 1952

While there are scenes in other Conjuring Universe titles that take place before it, Corin Hardy’s The Nun is featured first on the timeline because the primary events in the story take place before all of the other narratives in the franchise – specifically taking us back to the year 1952. It was at this time that Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and Sister Irene (Tessa Farmiga) were sent by the Vatican to Romania in hopes of uncovering the details behind the mysterious suicide of a nun. Unfortunately for them, it led to a direct confrontation with the demon known as Valek (Bonnie Aarons), and while they were ultimately able to escape with their lives, the events also saw the horrifically evil entity let loose on the world.

Being set so early on the timeline and taking place in Eastern Europe, The Nun isn’t as directly tied into the events of The Conjuring Universe as many of the other movies, but it does feature some key details. Not only does it show us the origins of the main villain from The Conjuring 2, but it also provides an interesting link to one of the Warrens’ most dangerous cases, as seen in The Conjuring.

Annabelle: Creation

Setting: 1955

As the name of the film implies, David F. Sandberg’s Annabelle: Creation is designed as an origin story for its titular character, literally showing how the seriously creepy porcelain toy came into existence. Technically it all kicks off in 1943, as that was when doll maker Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) first designed Annabelle for his daughter (Samara Lee), but the majority of the story takes place in 1955 – which is when Samuel and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto) agreed to take in the children from a shuttered orphanage, as well as their caretaker Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman). It was at this time that the doll not only started to get stronger, but also took its first victims.

This is obviously a table-setter for all of Annabelle’s adventures in The Conjuring Universe so far, showing how she first became possessed and the initial efforts that were taken to contain her power. And while those efforts were successful for a while, it took about 12 years for her special brand of chaos to be one again unleashed upon the world…

Annabelle

Setting: 1967

Despite Annabelle’s very small role in The Conjuring, audiences quickly fell in love with her, and Warner Bros. acted quickly to take advantage of that affection. But with the movie having already established how she ended up in the possession of Ed and Loraine Warren, the first Annabelle spin-off had to find a different story to tell, which is why it wound up being set in 1967. Inspired by the cult murders of the era – specifically the actions of the Manson family – it tells a rather self-contained tale about the terrors that the titular doll can induce, specifically torturing a couple of new parents (Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton) who wind up with her in their possession.

Despite being the first of its own series, John Leonetti’s Annabelle is arguably best seen as a middle chapter sandwiched between Annabelle: Creation and Annabelle Comes Home. Its connections to the rest of the Conjuring Universe are minimal, but it does fill a key gap in the timeline between Annabelle’s “birth” and her time in the hands of the Warrens.

Annabelle Comes Home

Setting: 1970

Although Gary Dauberman’s Annabelle Comes Home hasn’t actually been released or even screened just yet, we know a lot about the movie’s setting simply because the central premise is very much tied into where it takes place on The Conjuring Universe timeline. Specifically, the story is told on the night that Ed and Loraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) bring the titular doll back to their house so that it can be contained in their occult museum. With what we already know about the Warrens relationship with Annabelle, this pins it right before the main events of The Conjuring, hence its placement here in this feature.

Taking things a step further, it’s even easier to specifically place Annabelle Comes Home because it’s apparently a story that doesn’t exactly stretch out for weeks/months on end. Instead, the action will be taking place over the course of one night, as young Judy Warren (Mckenna Grace), her babysitter (Madison Iseman), and her babysitter’s friend (Katie Sarife) try and survive the terror that Annabelle is able to unleash while being surrounded by the Warrens’ huge collection of terrifying objects.

The Conjuring

Setting: 1971

Finally we get to the film that started it all – and it’s a pretty easy one to explain timeline-wise. James Wan’s The Conjuring is a straight-forward horror flick when it comes to narrative, as while there are references to events in the past, as well as the aforementioned introduction of Annabelle, most of the movie takes place within a few weeks of the year 1971.

As for its relationship with the rest of The Conjuring Universe, there aren’t many connections to mention that haven’t already been established – though it is worth recognizing that Ed and Loraine Warren aren’t exactly amateurs at the start of this story. As a result, it’s entirely possible that future chapters of this franchise could be set both before and after the events in this movie – it all just depends on the stories that the filmmakers are interested in telling.

The Curse Of La Llorona

Setting: 1973

Because of the period storytelling that The Conjuring Universe employs, most of the titles have been very specific in establishing exactly when it is that each of the stories take place (hence why we’ve been able to tag specific years for each movie). Michael Chaves’ The Curse Of La Llorona is a bit different, though. While we know that it definitely takes place after the events of Annabelle, specifically because of the involvement of Father Perez (Tony Amendola), the upcoming movie recently revealed it's setting to be 1973, which puts it smack dab in the middle of the Conjuring franchise.

It almost makes sense that there would be a bit of vagueness surrounding The Curse Of La Llorona, as it’s also The Conjuring Universe movie with the fewest connections to the rest of the franchise. It’s not a spin-off from any specific title, and with the exception of the presence of Father Perez is doesn’t actually have any other Easter eggs. If you’re watching these films chronologically, you can really watch this one any time after Annabelle and not get confused by how it fits into the grand scheme of things.

The Conjuring 2

Setting: 1977

Because of the inspiration taken from the lives of Ed and Loraine Warren, it may be a minute before we get to see a contemporary movie set in The Conjuring Universe, so right now the last title on the franchise timeline is James Wan’s The Conjuring 2. The film opens in 1976, specifically with the paranormal investigating duo looking into the notorious events in Amityville, New York, but the majority of the narrative takes them to 1977 England where they look into the case of the Enfield Poltergeist.

Much like its direct predecessor, elements of The Conjuring 2 have been expanded through spin-offs, most notably The Nun, and it makes for an interesting viewing experience knowing the background material provided by the other titles. So if you’re planning on doing a chronological run through The Conjuring Universe the next time you decide to revisit the franchise, you may find that certain details come across a bit differently by the time you get to the end of the timeline.

This covers everything that we’ve seen from The Conjuring Universe so far, but there is still a bright future ahead for the demon-filled series, with announced projects like The Conjuring 3, The Nun 2, and The Crooked Man. You can be sure that we here on CinemaBlend will be following them all very closely, so be sure to stay tuned for all the latest details.

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