Posted on in Film News, Television News

MONDAY MARVEL ROUNDUP: ‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’, ‘Spider-Man 3’, ‘Hawkeye’, and ‘X-Men’

Another week, another batch of interesting stories concerning upcoming Marvel films and shows. 

Anthony Mackie Says ‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Has Very Little To Do Before Wrapping

While speaking with Jimmy Fallon, MCU star Anthony Mackie revealed they only have a little bit more to shoot whenever The Falcon & The Winter Soldier is allowed to resume filming. 

MACKIE: “Well, I’m happy to say we are not canceled, we are on hold. So, we’re going back, hopefully, sometime soon to finish it up. We have very little stuff to do.”

This lines-up with recent comments from Steven Soderbergh that his crime flick Kill Switch was expected to begin shooting in two weeks when productions across the globe were placed on pause. Winter Soldier’s Sebastian Stan was set for a lead role in Kill Switch, which would have meant he expected to have completed the Disney+ series by that time. 

Marisa Tomei Hopes Aunt May’s Professional Life Is Highlighted In ‘Spider-Man 3’ 

Marisa Tomei is on the promotion tour for her new film The King of Staten Island and revealed to Screen Rant what she’d like to see happen with Aunt May in the upcoming Spider-Man sequel. 

TOMEI: “Well, I’ve had her – [director] Jon Watts and I always talked about her being a community organizer. And hopefully, that track will expand and be part of this one, as well.”

When Spider-Man 3 (aka Serenity Now) begins filming is a large question mark, as it was set to shoot mostly in the United States, and the country in the middle of a pandemic. Sony Pictures had wanted Tom Holland to shoot their Uncharted feature film before moving on to the Spidey sequel, which had set to begin shooting back in March in Germany before global film production was placed on hold due to the Coronavirus. 

There is now an expectation that Uncharted will resume first because pre-production was completed and sets are ready to go. While where Marvel Studios is concerning Spider-Man 3 is a bit unknown given that set construction wasn’t likely happening during stay-at-home orders. 

Wolverine Villains Connected To ‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Series?

A neat little tidbit was highlighted last week by Murphy’s Multiverse concerning an image of a gang member’s jacket from the Madripoor set of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. The site tried to decode what the Easter Egg might be concerning the symbol on the jacket. 

If you’re unaware, Madripoor is a location from the X-Men comics and it’s where that a handful of solo Wolverine adventures took place. It’s located in Southeast Asia and is essentially run by criminal organizations allowing syndicates to conduct business without any interference from authorities. This has led many to believe that Marvel Studios might use the location to tease mutants and maybe even Logan. 

I then pointed out on Twitter that this symbol on their jacket is most likely an homage to Ogun’s mask (taking cues from the traditional Hannya mask). 

Ogun is a Japanese X-Men villain with telepathic powers that has connections to Wolverine (his mentor), Kitty Pryde (brainwashes her), the Yakuza, and the villainous organization the Serpent Society. 

 Captain America: Serpent Society you might remember was the fake title for Captain America 3 before Kevin Feige revealed they were tackling Civil War and announced Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther.

The group of villains could easily become the new HYDRA for Sam Wilson’s incarnation of Captain America in the series and potentially in a new wave of solo films as well.

Ogun’s connection to a gang in the series could mean a lot of things, the Yakuza operating on the island could help establish connections to future underworld figures like The Hand or even someone like fellow Wolverine villain Omega Red (resurrected by the Yakuza). The character himself showing up could help establish that criminal villains with powers are starting to show up in the universe, either being mutants themselves or through other means. A way to possibly tease mutants are showing up in the MCU before the X-Men are rebooted.

Madripoor might also tease other Wolverine/X-Men villains.

One of the leaders of Serpent Society was Viper, who is Ophelia Sarkissian aka Madame Hydra. The villainess has a direct connection to the island nation of Madirpoor, as Viper was in control of it. Like Ogun, Viper has crossed paths with Wolverine on multiple occasions and at one point even married him. An altered version of the character was used in James Mangold’s The Wolverine, but unlike her comic book counterpart was referred to Dr. Green and was a snake-like mutant that was able to spit venom. 

Marvel Studios is known to make characters fit various projects by slightly altering them for their needs. Zemo is a perfect example of that. Viper doesn’t even have to be Ophelia they could easily have Rachel Leighton aka Diamondback or Sinthea Shmidt aka Sin take that leadership role.

Originally, the series was supposed to begin airing this August or fall, but the production shutdown might have delayed those plans as Disney hasn’t officially announced new release dates for original programming other than The Mandalorian Season 2 sticking to it’s October start date. 

Linda Cardellini Interested In Marvel Making A Laura Barton Movie 

Avengers actress Linda Cardellini recently spoke with Collider about seeing more of her in the MCU and she brought up the possibility of her character Laura Barton getting her own film. 

CARDELLINI: “I mean, you know, it was one of those things where I was sort of brought into the universe and it truly is its own universe. It’s its own entity with this fandom that is incredible and to be part of it is, I don’t know, it’s pretty fun. My daughter’s friends love it. It’s one of those kinds of things, you know? So it’s always fun. I mean, would I love to see a Laura Barton movie? Sure! But I don’t think that’s gonna happen. I think people are more interested in the superheroes.”

I don’t think this would ever happen unless they attempted to give Laura another superhero’s mantle. I personally wouldn’t be opposed to Laura becoming the hard-canon version of Mockingbird. Depending on where in the timeline that the Hawkeye series takes place, there is a good chance that Linda will return for that show giving her more to do. 

Posted on in Review

REVIEW: ‘The King of Staten Island’ Is An Admirable and Flawed Drama With Generic Performances

The King of Staten Island is a comedic drama from co-writer and director Judd Apatow. Starring and co-written by SNL cast member and stand-up comedian Pete Davidson. 

Pete plays Scott, a Staten Island guy approaching his mid-20s without much of a drive to his life or career moving in any sort of substantial direction. He seemingly is self-medicating himself after the loss of his firefighter father, pulling directly from Pete’s own life. Scott is forced to grow-up once his sister leaves for college and his mother finally starts dating again, oddly enough, another local firefighter played by fellow stand-up comedian Bill Burr. 

Pete’s performance is slightly pedestrian which isn’t shocking given his limited drama experience and the first act is built-up to loath his douche-bag slacker character as Scott keeps making dumb choice after another. The problem is that Scott is extremely unlikable or charismatic within the first act, as his friends and family simply suffer him without many examples of why they are outside of their obligations.  

Not enough character-building for Scott if I had to pinpoint the issue there. I’m not sure if giving out bad tattoos is exactly enough of a personality trait to get people rooting for someone. However, by the second act, Scott actually starts getting a little more interesting when he’s pulled out of his comfort zone, a running theme with the other Apatow films. 

However, the slacker trope is getting a little overused. 

Davidson does bring some heart and humor along with some emotional moments but still wasn’t really giving enough reason to root for Scott or become invested in his journey. 

There is an annoying meta point in the film where a co-worker dismisses Scott’s odd behavior in a restaurant is due to “nepotism” and calls it a disease. That’s pretty bold of Mr. Apatow considering his daughter Maude Apatow takes a prominent role in the film (having roles in four other of Judd’s films) playing Scott’s sister Claire, who is heading to college and leaving the nest. 

Maude’s acting here is average and it would be difficult to say any of her scenes were memorable or standout in my mind. The role ended up feeling more like wallpaper which is likely due to the minimal energy and skill brought to it. 

I don’t think the part would have been as distracting if it had been played by someone else and not given as much screentime as she had. Considering the talent secured in other supporting parts, I find it hard to believe that another actress couldn’t have handled the sister role and added a little more life to the character. Judd didn’t do Maude any favors putting her up against actresses like Marisa Tomei and Bel Powley. End of the day, Judd is the director and producer, casting the film as he likes but it’s hard to take his nepotism joke seriously when he’s been guilty of it throughout his career. 

Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr made a cute couple, but I’m not sure it was a good idea to slap a huge red mustache on Bill making him look like Yosemite Sam or the attempt to give Marisa some weird mullet. I’m curious how much of Bill’s lines as Ray were cribbed from his podcast rants as they seemed more like moments from his real personality than an actual character he was trying to create. That said, they were highlights of the film.

Bel Powley as Scott’s friend/secret girlfriend Kelsey was another highlight of the film. I was a little shocked she didn’t get more things to do in the film and was heavily underutilized. 

The rest of the supporting cast did feel like a handful of people won a contest to be in the film and didn’t bring much to the scenes they appeared in. I did like the brief amount of Steve Buscemi scenes in the film, given he was once a firefighter in real life, he didn’t feel out of place and I would have liked to have more of him as well. 

We also don’t really see Scott decide what he’s going to do with his life which is essentially the question posed by multiple people throughout the entire film, leaving the ending a little dissatisfying and anti-climatic. 

It’s odd that I keep saying I wanted to see more of certain actors because there is a lot of that could have been cut out. The running time of over 2 hours is also another gripe I tend to have with the Apatow films. The man is a little too precious with his scenes and adds an extra 30 minutes to a runtime that when it doesn’t need it. 

I was shocked to learn that the film’s cinematographer Robert Elswit was behind films such as There Will Be Blood, Nightcrawler, and Inherent Vice, excitingly vibrant movies. Staten Island is so muted and desaturated to the point the movie looks like unappealing grey mush. 

I think it’s admirable to see Judd attempt a more dramatic feature film rather than focusing mainly on his normal ribaldry. The King of Staten Island isn’t his best film but it’s showing audiences he’s finally maturing as a director and heading in the right direction for the most part.  

6.5/10

Posted on in Film News

Warner Bros. Delays The Releases of ‘Tenet’, ‘Wonder Woman 1984’, ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’, and ‘Matrix 4’

Despite adamant exhibitors and industry folk alike that had been betting big on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet sticking to it’s original July 17th release date, Warner Bros. announced yesterday the science fiction espionage film would be getting a slight delay (two weeks) opening instead on July 31st. 

The studio has also moved other tentpole releases to other dates as well. 

Wonder Woman 1984 has yet again been delayed (landing its fourth release date) moving from August 14th to October 2nd.

Godzilla vs. Kong which had been given a release date of November 20th has been bumped to next year and will be coming out on May 21st, 2021. 

That May spot was originally intended for Matrix 4, which has been delayed as well given a new date of April 1st, 2022. Matrix 4, unlike the other films, hasn’t even completed production and is expected to resume filming in Germany sometime soon. 

While most people are just assuming that Tenet will still be able to release next month as planned, the studio has now secured two open spots with August 14th and November 20th after these latest date shifts. Giving the studio two potential buffer dates if they wanted to delay it even further beyond two weeks. 

There is also still the slim possibility that Dune’s December 18th spot could get gobbled-up as well. I could see a handful of unfinished films meant to be released in 2021, like Spider-Man 3 and The Batman (has only shot 25% of it’s scenes) delayed into 2022, just like Matrix 4.

I don’t think we’re quite finished with the musical chairs just yet as there are growing concerns that the second wave of COVID could be bubbling in the United States in the near future as multiple states are seeing a rise in new cases.

This on the heels of stubborn theater chains opening this weekend and attempting to open an even larger number of locations next month. Seems like the industry is eager to get things rolling even if it’s neither wise of safe to do so. 

SOURCE: WARNER BROS. 

Posted on in Film News

Roland Emmerich’s Sci-Fi Disaster Film ‘Moonfall’ Adds Patrick Wilson – Eyes Fall Start In Montreal

After previously landing cast members such as Oscar-winner Halle Berry (John Wick: Chapter 3) and Josh Gad, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively revealed that Patrick Wilson (Aquaman, Watchmen, The Conjuring) and Christopher Plummer (All The Money In The World) has also taken roles in Roland Emmerich’s upcoming science-fiction disaster film Moonfall.

Moonfall sees its plot go into action when the moon is knocked from its orbit by a mysterious force and is on a collision course with Earth. With just weeks to go before impact, a ragtag team is sent on a seemingly impossible mission to land on the lunar surface and save humanity.

They also add some information on their characters. 

Wilson will play a disgraced former NASA astronaut whose last mission, which ended in tragedy, holds a clue about the impending catastrophe. Plummer will play his teenage son.

Moonfall is also reportedly eyeing a fall production start in Montreal. 

We’ve learned that they have added production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli (Blade, The Incredible Hulk, Ghost Rider), who previously worked with Roland on his WWII film Midway. 

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘The Predator’ Actress Olivia Munn To Star and Produce Action Sci-Fi Film ‘Replay’

News out of the virtual Cannes market via The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that actress Olivia Munn will star and produce a new action flick titled Replay from The Exchange and Dark Castle Entertainment. 

They’re comparing the film to a mix of John Wick, The Raid, and The Terminator. 

Replay is the story of Erin Staffer (Munn), whose husband is kidnapped and murdered. Now, armed only with illegal, bleeding-edge tech and a hopeless plan, Erin must do everything in her power to change the past and save him. 

Munn is best known for taking smaller supporting roles in films like X-Men: Apocalypse and The Predator but it sounds like this might be her chance to etch-out an action vehicle for her very own. 

The action film is currently in pre-production stages with Jimmy Loweree writing and directing. 

They’re now seeking international buyers. 

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Lily James To Lead Bank Robbery Flick ‘Peggy Jo’ From Action Director Phillip Noyce

Variety is reporting that British actress Lily James (Baby Driver) is set to play the titular role in the robbery film Peggy Jo that will be made by action film director Phillip Noyce. 

The film is based on the true story of Texas bank robber that posed as a man (Cowboy Bob) during heists. 

Peggy Jo (James) is a beautiful person, prone to be romantically lost in books and films; however, she is not the sort of person who lets life and people get the better of her. When her latest beau turns out to be married to his bank co-worker, she takes matters into her own hands, robbing his bank disguised as a man with a big beard and a back-to-front cowboy hat.

Inspired by her love of stories such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and eager to support her struggling family financially, Peggy Jo starts holding up a string of banks as her now-famous alter-ego “Cowboy Bob.” She becomes more and more daring, hotly pursued by astute FBI agent Bishop. But along the way she loses her heart to damaged soul Charlie. Like Peggy, Charlie also seeks escape and solace in the fantasy world of books and poetry. As Bishop draws nearer and her love-story with Charlie is threatened, Peggy chooses, like her heroes, not to give up, but to go down in a blaze of glory.

Noyce is known for his films Patriot Games, Clear & Present Danger, The Saint, Blind Fury, and Salt. 

The script was penned by Robert Knott, who previously wrote the western Appaloosa. 

Filming will be taking place in the Southern United States. 

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

New ‘Alien 5’ 50-Page Treatment Was Penned By Franchise Producer/Screenwriter Walter Hill

We’ve been waiting to hear some update concerning the Alien franchise and while there has been some teases from Ridley Scott that his third prequel Alien: Awakening is still in development phases. A fifth Alien film starring Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley might be still in the cards despite the Neill Blomkamp incarnation of the project being placed on ice.

While speaking with Empire, Weaver revealed that she received a 50-page Alien 5 treatment 18 months ago from franchise producer and screenwriter Walter Hill. Hill has been part of the franchise since the original 1979 film and worked on scripts (including rewrites and treatments) for Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3.

She doesn’t sound as enthusiastic about Ripley’s return it as she was when Blomkamp was attached for Alien 5 as it sounds like Ridley Scott could be calling the shots.

WEAVER: “I don’t know. Ridley has gone in a different direction. Maybe Ripley has done her bit. She deserves a rest.”

I think Alien 5 is still the best way to go. Neill Blomkamp wanted to make a film that directly connected to Aliens with the return of characters such as Newt, Hicks, and Bishop after being killed-off in Alien 3, which was co-written by Walter Hill.

There is a good chance that Hill’s version might have been a continuation from Alien: Resurrection following a clone version of Ripley. Something that had been the original intention of Alien 5 when Ridley Scott and James Cameron teamed-up for their own incarnation before the studio passed to make Alien vs Predator instead.

At one point, James Cameron was able to read Neill’s script and called it “gangbusters” during an Aliens Anniversary panel at San Diego Comic-Con back in 2016.

Ridley Scott has seemingly been the main reason Alien 5 hasn’t come together as he pulled his weight at Fox to have Alien: Covenant made instead of Blomkamp’s film, essentially killing it in the process.

SOURCE: EMPIRE

Posted on in Television News

‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’s Rodney Rothman Directing Live-Action ‘Promised Neverland’ Series For Amazon

 Amazon is tackling another interesting series adaptation with news today of them adapting a Japanese property for western audiences. It’s been announced via outlets like Variety that Amazon Studios, Fox 21 Television Studios, and Vertigo are moving forward with an English-langue live-action series adaptation of the manga The Promised Neverland. 

The manga is written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It is in it’s second season of an anime series in Japan as well. 

THE PROMISED NEVERLAND – A group of the smartest kids at a seemingly idyllic orphanage uncover its dark truth when they break a rule to never leave the orphanage grounds. Once the truth is discovered, they begin to plan an escape to save all of the children. 

Rodney Rothman, who co-directed the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse will be helming the series with a script from Spider-Verse screenwriter Meghan Malloy.

I’m not familiar with the property but this certainly sounds interesting enough to be serialized. I’m curious how fans will react from a western adaption. 

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Television News

‘Chernobyl’s Johan Renck Says He’s Directing Pilot Episode For HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’

We were excited when HBO announced they would be developing a live-action series based on the Naughty Dog post-apocalypse video game The Last of Us with Neil Druckmann and Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin writing it. 

THE LAST OF US – Set in the post-apocalyptic United States, the game tells the story of survivors, Joel and Ellie, as they work together to survive their westward journey across what remains of the country to find a possible cure for the modern fungal plague that has nearly decimated the entire human race.

They’ve seemingly added another creative force behind the successful Chernobyl miniseries as director Jonah Renck will be involved. Johan revealed to Discussing Film in a recent interview that he’ll be directing the series pilot and hints he could potentially direct more episodes, but seems to be unsure if that will happen. 

RENCK: “I’m an executive producer on it and attached to it. It’s an ongoing TV series. So that’s not something that I will be able to take on to that extent, but I’m part of that series and I will be directing at least the pilot. Then we’ll see how it goes on further. I mean, both Craig and I, we are working with each other again and we will work with each other on other things because we like each other.”

HBO has yet to announce any casting for the series. 

SOURCE: DISCUSSING FILM

Posted on in Film News

Jake Gyllenhaal and Swedish Director Gustav Möller Team For Graphic Novel Adaptation ‘Snow Blind’

Deadline is reporting that actor Jake Gyllenhaal and director Gustav Möller (The Guilty) are putting a package together for a new thriller with BOOM! Studios producing. The script written by Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls) is an adaptation of the original graphic novel from Ollie Masters. It’s being pitched as being “Prisoners meets Running On Empty”. 

Here is a synopsis for the graphic novel. 

SNOW BLIND – For high school student Teddy, life in a sleepy suburb in Alaska turns upside down when he innocently posts a photo of his dad online, only to learn he and his family are in the Witness Protection Program. A man seeking revenge invades their town, and soon FBI agents arrive too. But what if his parent’s reasons for going into the program aren’t as innocent as they say?

They are expecting a deal to be announced soon. 

BOOM! Studios had recently set an expansive deal with Netflix for multiple films and television projects based on their comic book properties, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Snow Blind ended up landing on the streaming service. 

Jake has been involved with some very interesting thrillers over his career with David Fincher’s Zodiac, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, and Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler. He certainly fits well within that genre and we’ll be excited to see what the final results of the adaptation. 

SOURCE: DEADLINE