Tag: Jon Watts

Posted on in News

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Earns Massive $587M At Global Box Office As COVID Surges

Spider-Man: No Way Home broke some major pandemic era box office records this weekend as the film hit $253 million domestically and $587 million globally, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s certainly a feat for Sony Pictures and Marvel as it’s going to end up the most profitable film in a very very long time. A shot in the arm for a business that is potentially dying a slow death thanks to studios funneling major feature film releases to streaming services or having streaming options compete directly with a theatrical release.

Does this mean theaters are finally back? A statement reused anytime a studio blockbuster makes money.

Well, yes and no. The Spider-Man sequel was always seen as a juggernaut release, given that Spider-Man: Far From Home became the first installment to make over a billion dollars. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with other December releases like The Matrix Resurrections and others going into early 2022.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has triggered multiple restrictions across the globe and might continue to get increasingly worse over the winter, leading to reduced capacity or shutting down theaters entirely. This being an extremely transmissible version of the virus means that normal precautions used in the past might not be enough and might directly impact theaters being able to continue to earn big money as populations deal with this new incarnation.

I think we’ll know more once audiences get Spidey out of their systems and realize that this new COVID surge isn’t going away just because people are tired of hearing/dealing with it or the regular apathy that has always been attached to the pandemic. Common sense will have to eventually click in at some point.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero’s identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who’ve ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

Tom Holland Says They’re Treating ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ As “The End Of The Franchise”

Spider-Man: No Way Home will be swinging into theaters on December 17, but what the future holds for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man isn’t as crystal clear as it was before the hiccups between Sony Pictures and Disney/Marvel. At one point, an extension was nixed and Sony almost moved forward without the help of Marvel Studios.

Tom Holland was able to get the two studios back to the table and the third Spider-Man film was shot, thankfully still takes place within the MCU.

During a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tom Holland gives the impression that the end of the trilogy with Spider-Man: No Way Home, could ultimately be the end of the ride if new deals aren’t made.

“We were all treating [No Way Home] as the end of a franchise, let’s say. I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you’d be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy. We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films. Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. But we were definitely treating [No Way Home] like it was coming to an end, and it felt like it.”

While there has been plenty of online fan speculation concerning the future of Spider-Man, Holland is currently without an official contract (despite an openness to return) as the actor said he completed it shooting No Way Home. Spider-Man 4 hasn’t been announced by either Sony Pictures or Marvel, alongside any future extension on their co-production deal.

Director Jon Watts is making a movie for Apple Studios that stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt, seemingly before he helps Disney/Marvel reboot the Fantastic Four (reportedly doesn’t have a script) for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This doesn’t leave much room for a return to tackle Spider-Man 4 anytime soon, Sony likely won’t wait too long before moving along with the solo films with or without Marvel/Watts.

Fans have simply assumed that Spider-Man: No Way Home will further connect the Sony Spider-Man Universe films to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, if Marvel parts ways with Sony that really doesn’t make much sense given Kevin Feige’s longstanding aversion to other people (even within the Marvel offices) tinkering with his cinematic space without his oversight.

What Sony does with their characters post-Marvel Studios is pretty much anyone’s guess with multiple solo movies on the horizon such as Jared Leto’s Morbius, Tom Hardy’s Venom 3, J.C. Chandor’s Kraven The Hunter led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Olivia Wilde’s untitled but assumed to be Spider-Woman movie.

One plausible scenario that was mentioned when Disney and Sony first walked away from a co-production extension, that Marvel/Sony would partner on Spider-Man 3, giving some finality to the MCU trilogy and then essentially let Sony do what they want with their characters. The Multiverse could easily place Holland’s Spider-Man outside of the main-canon Marvel Cinematic Universe allowing Sony to continue to use those actors, including Tom Holland finally being able to show up in Venom 3 or other spinoffs.

Tackling a version of the Sinister Six and pairing Peter Parker with Doctor Strange certainly feels like bucket list things for Marvel to do before saying goodbye to the character.

Until there is a real announcement of a further extension, we can’t really get too comfortable with the idea future Spider-Man movies will always take place within the Marvel’s established universe. Because Sony was already willing to chug along without them before, I don’t see how that changes if a deal isn’t reached.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Posted on in News, Television News

RUMOR: George Clooney Reunited With Oscar Isaac To Direct Episode Of Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’

While Moon Knight has wrapped filming, there seem to be plenty of surprises left as we still don’t know the full cast/characters of the Marvel Studios series that will air on Disney+ in 2022.

Moon Knight, aka Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac), a mercenary who has numerous alter egos — cabbie Jake Lockley and millionaire playboy Steven Grant — in order to better fight the criminal underworld. But later he was established as being a conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Most recently, the character was a consultant who dresses in all-white and goes by the name Mr. Knight. 

Filming took place in Budapest, London, and Jordan with an established directing team that consists of Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead.

The Ronin has learned that George Clooney (The Midnight Sky, The Monuments Men, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind) may have directed an episode of Moon Knight for Marvel after finishing his shoot on the Boston-set drama The Tender Bar that stars Ben Affleck.

However, we’re treating this as a rumor as we can’t confirm the tidbit at this time and we’re unsure if he’ll have an acting role as well.

It’s worth mentioning that Oscar Issac and George Clooney have worked together before on the Clooney-directed thriller Suburbicon, so there is an established working relationship.

Clooney wouldn’t be new to directing television as he tackled a series adaptation of the war satire Catch-22 at Hulu and the HBO series Unscripted.

The actor-turned-director has a complicated relationship with comic book projects as he played Batman in Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin leading to a franchise reboot that was eventually assigned to Christopher Nolan giving us The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Recently, Brad Pitt and Clooney took lead roles in a non-superhero pic directed by Jon Watts at Apple Studios, who just wrapped up the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Watts had also been announced as the director of Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot last December.

There is an expectation that Marvel Studios will be making a big presentation on November 12 at the Disney+ Day event and give 2022 shows like Moon Knight a promotional push, hopefully, we’ll get some footage or first look images as Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector/Moon Knight.

Posted on in Film News, News

Apple Studios Lands Director Jon Watts’ Thriller Starring Brad Pitt & George Clooney

Director Jon Watts has been spending a good chunk of the last ten years working on a Spider-Man trilogy for Marvel Studios, after making waves with his thriller Cop Car. He’s currently putting the finishing touches on Spider-Man: No Way Home and during that post-production process has been shopping around a massive package deal that has almost every studio/streamer in the Hollywood drooling.

Watts will write and direct an untitled thriller starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney as two lone wolf fixers given the same assignment.

Deadline reports after a large bidding war, Apple Studios has surfaced as victorious, however, not mentioning how much the deal is worth. The film will get a theatrical release which is not as common when streamers get their mitts on original projects.

The group vying for the film include Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Annapurna, MGM Studios, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Apple, Netflix, and Amazon.

It’ll be interesting to see when the thriller begins shooting as Watts has been attached to direct Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot since last December, but is one of the few MCU films still waiting on an official release date.

At this point, we shouldn’t expect Fantastic Four to begin shooting before 2023.

Watts’ film Cop Car is very much recommended if you’ve only seen his work at Marvel.

COP CAR – When two rebellious young boys stumble across an abandoned cop car hidden in a secluded glade they decide to take it for a joyride. When the small town sheriff (Kevin Bacon) goes looking for his missing car, the boys find themselves in the center of a deadly game of cat and mouse and the only way out is to go as fast as their cop car can take them.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Andrew Garfield Says ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Set Image Circulating Online Is Photoshop: “I’m Trying To Manage Expectations”

Coming off even more denials about appearing as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Andrew Garfield is now claiming that the images making the rounds of him on some sort of set is actually “photoshop.”

Garfield appeared on The Tonight Show, when host Jimmy Fallon confronted him about the image of him and he admitted he’s seen it but it’s not real.

“I heard about it and I did see it, and it’s a photoshop. [Audience groans] I’m trying to manage expectations.”

Adding to previous denials of his involvement in the superhero pic.

He’s not the only actor pouring cold water on an appearance in the Spider-Man sequel, Charlie Cox recently said that pandemic travel restrictions and shooting his AMC+ series Kin made it impossible for him to film scenes in Atlanta.

“There was a fan on the Kin crew. I came to work one day, and the rumor had come out that I was filming in Atlanta, and he asked me like it was a sensible question, and I was like, ‘I’ve been here every day with you, on set’ but I think he was so hopeful that he still was like, ‘Is it true?’; I had to say to him, ‘How would it be true?”

“Even if I had a few days off, we’re in the middle of a pandemic. I’m not allowed to fly anywhere. What are you talking about?’ Did he think Captain America came to get me?”

I guess we’ll have to see if these denials are genuine or not this winter.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is still marked down for a December 17 release date.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

SOURCE: THE TONIGHT SHOW

Posted on in Film News, News

UPDATE: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Confirmed To Have Been Shot By ‘Avatar’ Cinematographer Mauro Fiore

Earlier this week, Sony Pictures finally released the first teaser trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home and ended up landing an impressive 355+ million views, dwarfing Avengers: Endgame.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

The movie is still set to be released on December 17, but it’s unclear, officially, who shot the superhero sequel. However, a potential listing on IMDB might point towards the cinematographer of James Cameron’s Avatar and Fox’s Dark Phoenix, Mauro Fiore.

The former pic landed Fiore an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2009 with other film credits such as Infinite, The Island and Training Day.

UPDATE: Gaffer Josh Davis mentioned in an interview with to Lite Gear back in February that he’d be working with Fiore on the Spider-Man sequel. Looks like he’s been confirmed.

“I’m currently working on the third installment of Spider-Man with actor Tom Holland, DP Mauro Fiore, and Director Jon Watts. It’s my largest job as a gaffer thus far, and wow– what a ride! Be careful what you ask for. Be thankful for the people that help you get there. Be grateful for the ones that help you get it done.”

We should be clear that we haven’t been able to confirm this listing is legit, but will likely be able to know either way when the marketing really kicks in.

The cast consists of Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Jon Favreau, Hannibal Buress, Jacob Batalon, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Marisa Tomei, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Paula Newsome, and J.B Smoove.

We’ve now have concrete confirmations that Benedict Wong and possibly Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/Green Goblin will appear as well. We see a pumpkin bomb show up, someone trying to attack Peter in the shadows, Electro using his powers, and Alfred Molina’s glorious Doctor Octopus.

The Ronin first reported that Paula Newsome would appear and she is seen in the trailer.

If you feel like it, check out the Spider-Man: No Way Home for the 100th time.

SOURCE: IMDB

Posted on in Film News, News, Trailers

TRAILER: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Footage Confirms Peter Parker Will Explore The Multiverse & Teases The Sinister Six

After what feels like an eternity of fan speculation of when the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer would drop it’s finally made it’s way online, thanks to Sony Pictures.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

The cast consists of Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Jon Favreau, Hannibal Buress, Jacob Batalon, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Marisa Tomei, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Paula Newsome, and J.B Smoove.

We’ve now have concrete confirmations that Benedict Wong and possibly Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/Green Goblin will appear as well. We see a pumpkin bomb show up, someone trying to attack Peter in the shadows, Electro using his powers, and Alfred Molina’s glorious Doctor Octopus.

The Ronin first reported that Paula Newsome would appear and she is seen in the trailer.

The Multiverse was first teased in WandaVision, but fully realized in the Loki series with the TVA and Kang’s variant. It’s currently being explored with the What If…? animated show, however, there is something tonally off with that project compared to previous live-action stuff on Disney+. Hopefully, things will get better as more episodes air.

It seems like there will be a slight break for director Jon Watts, as he’ll be focusing on Fantastic Four next, as Marvel Studios will reboot the superhero team for the MCU. However, since making the announcement in December, they haven’t given any indication when they’ll begin production on Fantastic Four.

This isn’t terribly surprising as we haven’t had an announcement concerning Spider-Man 4 and Holland has revealed he completed his contract with No Way Home (he’s indicated he wants to resign but likely re-negotiate more for money). A small hiatus might be just the break everyone involved in the trilogy of films needs at this point.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is expected to debut on December 17, barring any further release delays.

SOURCE: SONY PICTURES

Posted on in Film News

‘Fantastic Four’: Emily Blunt Downplays Sue Storm Rumors As Fan-Casting – “I Don’t Know If Superhero Roles Are For Me”

Marvel Studios casting real-life couple John Kraskinski and Emily Blunt for their Fantastic Four reboot from Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts is starting to feel like stretch given recent comments from the pair of actors.

Emily has been on Marvel’s radar going back to Iron Man 2 as she was originally attached to play Black Widow before 20th Century Fox exercised a contract and pulled her off the film leading to Scarlett Johansson taking the role instead. She was later in the mix to play Peggy Carter with John up for the Steve Rogers, neither landed the project.

Speaking on The Howard Stern Show, Emily Blunt revealed that despite online rumblings neither of them have got a call from Marvel about the reboot and even downplayed her enthusiasm for superhero roles entirely. After striking out twice before you can’t really blame Emily for feeling like the genre isn’t for her. There had been similar rumors about her being wanted for Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel but has since denied multiple times in interviews that was ever a thing.

BLUNT: “That is fan-casting. No one has received a phone call. That’s just people saying, ‘Wouldn’t that be great?’ It’s not that it’s beneath me. I love Iron Man and when I got offered Black Widow I was obsessed with Iron Man. I wanted to work with Robert Downey Jr., it would’ve been amazing but I don’t know if superhero movies are for me. They’re not up my alley. I don’t like them. I really don’t.”

This comes after hubby John Krasinski also nixed rumors last year and has recently landed a deal with Paramount Pictures that will likely keep him busy for ages.

Emily recently worked with Disney for the Jungle Cruise movie based on the theme park ride and if successful will likely spawn sequels. An Edge of Tomorrow sequel has been in the works for ages but as Blunt has stated multiple times it all comes down to scheduling with Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman.

Tenet actor John David Washington has voiced some interest in playing Reed Richards.

Back in February, Deadline reported the production was only early stages of development and didn’t have screenwriters attached. With 2023 release dates dwindling and Blade expected to be third 2023 release, there is a good shot that we won’t see Fantastic Four until sometime in 2024. We still don’t have a timeline as Watts is still seemingly working on the final days of shooting Spider-Man: No Way Home and will have to spend most of 2021 in post-production before it’s December release.

SOURCE: THE HOWARD STERN SHOW

Posted on in Film News

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Is The Official Title Marvel’s Third ‘Spider-Man’ Film

Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon, and Zendaya have been trolling fans yesterday posting faux titles for Spider-Man 3, but have now revealed it’s official title being Spider-Man: No Way Home. It was announced on Holland’s Instagram and confirmed by Marvel on their official website, so we know it’s real this time.

Could the title be a potential nod to the rumored Multiverse aspect of the film and Doctor Strange’s involvement? We know that Benedict Cumberbatch will be appearing in the sequel but how much or why hasn’t been revealed.

Tom Holland has stated repeatedly in interviews that former Spider-Man actors won’t be appearing in the film but trade reports have confirmed that actors such Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina will be, the duo playing Electro and Doctor Octopus in the previous two incarnations of the franchise.

It’s worth mentioning that Marvel and Sony haven’t announced any new cast members.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is still filming in Atlanta and will be released on December 17th, barring any studio hiccups with Sony’s feature film schedule.

SOURCE: MARVEL & TOM HOLLAND

Posted on in Film News

‘Spider-Man 3’: Marvel Casting Extras To Play Attorneys & Stenographer For A Courtroom Scene Shooting Next Month

Background casting company CL Casting has revealed on their Facebook page there will be a courtroom scene shot next month in the Atlanta area for Spider-Man 3 aka The November Project. You can see from the posting they are seeking extras to play attorneys and a stenographer with the scene expected to shoot on March 10th.

We pointed out back in December that this courtroom scene could be taking place after it was telegraphed with previous Spider-Man 3 extra casting calls seeking background actors for protesters, detectives, and criminals.

It’s been long expected that Peter Parker would end up needing lawyer in the next film because of the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home as he’s been framed for the murder of Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. However, the simplest and obvious choice for Parker’s legal defense is Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk.

This is mainly because we know that the She-Hulk series for Disney+ begins filming next month in Atlanta, where Spider-Man 3 is already shooting and around when this scene will be shot. Maslany’s casting was announced by Disney/Marvel in December and this means the superhero lawyer is already confirmed/established for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, officially.

While there have been convincing rumors that Charlie Cox will reprise the Matt Murdock role, none of the trades have backed-up the claim or has any photographic/hard evidence that Charlie Cox has been on the set landed online despite talk he’s shot scenes already. Lacking any concrete confirmation Matt Murdock is actually in the superhero sequel, it’s still not entirely settled or a lock that he’ll appear. Sometimes rumors are just rumors, but there is still a good shot he might be in the film and it just hasn’t been made official.

Director Jon Watts is going to be tackling the Fantastic Four reboot next for Marvel Studios and it’s hard to ignore that he might want to include a Marvel character like She-Hulk given her connections to both superhero law and Fantastic Four. Adding Jennifer Walters to Spider-Man 3 allows the new superhero character to debut in a massive feature film (Spider-Man: Far From Home previously earned over a billion dollars at the box office) before the solo She-Hulk series on Disney+ and at the same time potentially plant seeds for Watts’ upcoming Fantastic Four film.

I guess we’ll have to be patient.

Spider-Man 3 will be released on December 17th.

SOURCE: CATRETT-LOCKE CASTING