One Of Toy Story 4's New Characters Has A Pretty Heartbreaking Backstory

One Of Toy Story 4's New Characters Has A Pretty Heartbreaking Backstory

Pixar seems determined to top the emotional gauntlet that was Toy Story 3. The newest film in the franchise, Toy Story 4, is said to have brought poor Tom Hanks to tears in the recording studio, and the film isn't pulling any punches with its new characters. The doll Gabby Gabby is voiced by Christina Hendricks, and apparently the toy has never felt the love of a child because of a factory defect.

My character Gabby Gabby is a baby doll who was sadly made with a broken voice box. Because of this defect, she has never known the love of a child or been able to fulfill her destiny to love one back. She has spent her whole life in an antique store looking out at the real world.

In addition to old favorites like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie, Toy Story 4 will feature a bunch of new toys who will either help or hinder the heroes. One of the new characters is Gabby Gabby, who looks like she's based on one of those older "talking" dolls. The first trailer for the movie seems to position her as the villain (she does have an army of ventriloquist dummies after all), but she's got a backstory that will bring you to tears.

Christina Hendricks voices the new character and she told People that Gabby Gabby has a tragically ironic origin that prevents her from doing the thing all toys are meant to do. She has a broken voice box and has thus never been loved or given love to a child. Not only that, but she lives in a boring antique shop!

It doesn't sound like the other two new characters will be as tragic as Gabby Gabby. Keanu Reeves voices Duke Caboom, a Canadian daredevil modeled after Evel Knievel. Caboom is a friend of the returning Bo Peep, and he's enlisted by Bo and Woody to help on their mission. However, he's got a fear of failure that he'll have to confront to get the job done.

The final new character is the tiniest toy in the franchise, Giggle McDimples. Voiced by Ally Maki, the one-inch Giggle is the police chief of a toy haven called Miniopolis. She's Bo Peep's best friend and a "mega boss," according to Maki.

Toy Story is known for introducing great characters, so hopes are high for these three new toys! Despite an especially rough development process, the movie looks great and we'll see if it forces us to use every tissue in the house by the time the credits roll.

Toy Story 4 is all set to hit theaters on June 21. For everything else popping up this year in theaters, check out our 2019 movie release guide.

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New Avengers: Endgame Footage Features The Survivors Making Fun Of Captain America

New Avengers: Endgame Footage Features The Survivors Making Fun Of Captain America

It's hard to believe it, but Avengers: Endgame is almost upon us. A year after Infinity War arrived in theaters to shatter expectations and break hearts, moviegoers will finally get some answers, and see what happened to the surviving Avengers after Thanos wiped out half the galaxy. Ahead of the release, Marvel Studios has been keeping its cards close to the chest, methodically releasing new footage and information about the highly anticipated blockbuster.

With a matter of days before Endgame finally hits theaters, Marvel has been able to get a bit more chatty and revealing, while still guarding the film's secrets. The trailers and TV spots generally recycle the same footage, but a new one just hit that provides some much needed levity to the dark and dreary post-snap world. Check it out below.

Even after an apocalyptic event like The Decimation, Captain America is still the butt of everyone's jokes. It's the lighter side of serialized storytelling.

The new Avengers: Endgame TV spot mostly features footage we've seen before. The surviving heroes are shown in the Avengers facility, planning their rematch against Josh Brolin's villainous Thanos. Considering just how high the stakes of the mission are, Chris Evans' Captain America gives a rousing inspirations speech (as he's wont to do). The survivors have no room for error in Endgame, although there is room for one thing: poking fun at Cap.

Because after Steve Rogers finished his inspiring monologue, Bradley Cooper's Rocket expressed just how good he was at it. Paul Rudd's Ant-Man then chimes in to agree, allowing a quick moment of comedy in an an otherwise super serious marketing campaign. The group then unite their fists, one again showing off their mysterious matching white suits.

It should be interesting to see how much comedy is utilized for Avengers: Endgame, given just how high the film's stakes are. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has leaned heavily on comedic beats in their recent blockbusters, helping to buoy new blockbusters and keep their paces bright. Infinity War still had moments of levity, mostly due to the inclusion of the Guardians of the Galaxy. But since the team besides Rocket and Nebula faded to dust, it might be more challenging to include comedy in the next Marvel release.

The trailers for Avengers: Endgame have been serious and somber, showing how devastated Earth is after Thanos collected the Infinity Stones and destroyed half of all life. The losses are innumerable, and the affects of The Decimation are teased to really affect characters like Hawkeye, Nebula, and Black Widow. And while they'll get some help from Captain Marvel and Ant-Man, the Avengers' mission to reverse The Snap isn't going to be easy.

Luckily, answers are arriving shortly. Avengers: Endgame will finally hit theaters on April 26th, one year after Infinity War blew minds and broke records. In the meantime, be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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A ‘Happy Ending’ For John Wick? Keanu Reeves And His Director Have Thoughts

A ‘Happy Ending’ For John Wick? Keanu Reeves And His Director Have Thoughts

Warning: SPOILERS for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, consider this message your head start. Bookmark this story, and come back once you’ve closed the contract.

The John Wick series is known for its spectacular stunt work, its neo-noir storytelling sensibilities and its usage of star Keanu Reeves as the ultimate angel of death. But what the series, now entering its third time at the box office with this weekend’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, hasn’t been known for is its happy endings.

If anything, the ending for the first John Wick movie represents the closest thing to an upbeat curtain call, with John busting his current pet companion out of the pound. But in terms of the last two chapters, the endings have made things more complicated for John and his navigation of the underworld ruled by The High Table. With such stakes, could there ever be hope for a happy ending in John’s eventual future?

That was one of the questions that CinemaBlend got to ask both Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski during the press day for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and both of their answers pointed towards a similar direction. Starting with Stahelski’s answer to the question of whether or not the John Wick series is working towards a finite end feels like a good launching point, as he had the following point blank response to that question:

Honestly, we kind of took the whole idea of the John Wick universe from Greek mythology, and a more fable-istic kind of telling. I don’t think John will ever really have a happy ending.

Frankly, not only has the mythological influence on John Wick’s franchise been pretty solid, it’s set the table for that very sort of ending with each passing installment. Were the series to have been a one-and-done quest for revenge, the ending of that first film could have served as the emotionally upbeat, but still dour coda to John’s bloodlust.

That being said, how many Greek myths do you know of that have a happy ending? Much like any hero worth their legend, John Wick’s enduring reputation still makes him a target to some, a valuable asset to others and a huge liability to the likes of the mythical High Table that rule the world he operates in.

So it’s obviously going to be very hard to get John Wick out of the life he impossibly escaped from previously, and no one understands that better than the man himself, Keanu Reeves. He said as much during his turn to answer the question of where John’s fate may take him, even after John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum put him through the ringer, as he provided the following thoughts:

A happy ending? You know, I’ve never seen that one. And whenever I think about it, it doesn’t go… I mean, it either goes to dying or being alone. But I guess that happens to everybody.

Hearing Keanu Reeves himself say that he can’t really think of an ending for John Wick that doesn’t conclude in death or isolation may sound like a bummer on the outset. Obviously death isn’t the most ideal circumstance for John, as his vengeance has been had for some time now, and the only real threat to him is an escalating set of circumstances that make it harder for him to make it through the day.

But if you’ve read the actor’s previous thoughts on just what should happen with his action powerhouse of a character and really look into what he’s saying, there’s a chance for happiness yet. In another recent interview, Keanu Reeves mentioned that his ideal ending for John Wick’s story would, in fact, see him alive and victorious as he can still live in the memory of his beloved wife, Helen.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to be surrounded by friends in the end, as John’s survival will more than likely take out as many allies as it will enemies. Ultimately, the simplest and happiest ending for John might be to just walk away from the wreckage and settle down to a more normal life away from it all.

You can watch Keanu Reeves and his John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum director Chad Stahelski discuss their individual answers, in the video from our interviews below:

The end point of the John Wick universe isn’t written yet, and if this weekend’s release of the third chapter has anything to say about it, that ending won’t be happening until a couple installments have come and gone. We’ll see where things go from here, but for now, you can enjoy John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum at a local theater near you.

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Are The Spider-Man Movies Building To The Sinister Six?

Are The Spider-Man Movies Building To The Sinister Six?

Once upon a time, there was a plan. The Spider-Man movies being made by Sony were going to introduce a bunch of villains – including the Rhino (Paul Giamatti), a Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) and Electro (Jamie Foxx) – and eventually team them in a villain ensemble movie, The Sinister Six. Those plans changed when Sony shifted its Spider-Man to Marvel Studios, with Tom Holland taking over for Andrew Garfield.

But the idea of a Sinister Six movie still sounds incredibly intriguing, and there’s no shortage of bad guys at play in the MCU’s version of Spidey. Michael Keaton already has introduced The Vulture. Michael Mando briefly appeared as a possible Scorpion. And we saw two Shockers in Spider-Man: Homecoming. We’re about to meet a bunch of new villains in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Venom (Tom Hardy) now exists in the universe, so we wondered if The Sinister Six was somewhere on the radar.

While interviewing Spider-Man: Far From Home executive producer Eric Carroll on the film’s London set, we asked him about this idea, and he told us:

I don't know some of these plans for what's going forward. I do know that, obviously, getting someone like Jake [Gyllenhaal] to do a role like [Quentin] Beck is something we definitely think sets some really fun things up. But as to specifics, right now, I think everyone thinks we're dodging these questions -- and I especially don't want to speak to Sony's plans -- but we kind of take these movies one at a time. If we have that right idea, I think that's something audiences would love, for sure. I do think it's something people have been wanting for a long time. So, I can't imagine it's not somebody's dream project? But it's not something we're specifically building to at the moment.

That’s sad to hear, but somewhat understandable. If there was going to be a Sinister Six movie, we actually could see it taking shape on the Sony side of things, where the studio has successfully launched its own Spider-Universe with Venom and the in-production Morbius. There are plans underway for stories with Silver Sable and Black Cat, so if a Six feature were to form, it likely would be born from those collaborations.

That’s also a great excuse to bring Tom Holland over from his Marvel Studios duties and use him in a Sony Spider-Man movie. But this would happen way down the road, as these large ensemble pics take years to develop properly, and the way that Eric Carroll tells it, no plans currently are underway.

For now, Spidey fans can look forward to the young hero’s European vacation, which will take him away from New York City and pair him with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) as they battle Elemental creatures from a multiverse dimension. Crazy!

Spider-Man: Far From Home opens in theaters on July 2.

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Looks Like The Fox And Disney Merger Will Cause A Ton Of Layoffs

Looks Like The Fox And Disney Merger Will Cause A Ton Of Layoffs

Even if you've never personally been part of a business merger of any kind (and I have), it's not hard to predict many of the things that will happen as a result. When two companies that used to do largely the same thing come together, you end up with one company that has a lot more employees doing the same job than it may necessarily need. That means layoffs. When two companies the size of Disney and 20th Century Fox come together, that's a lot of employees, and that means a lot of potential layoffs. Specifically, 7,500 people are expected to end up unemployed as a result of the merger.

Needless to say, 7,500 people is a lot of people who likely will be viewed as redundant after the dust settles. The Disney/Fox merger is expected to be finalized on paper as early as next week. We likely won't see a bunch of people out of work on day one. A lot of the work of combining these two massive companies together likely hasn't even started yet, waiting for the merger to become official.

Certainly, not everybody coming on board is going to lose their job. Fox, and its various subsidiary divisions, is going to remain as a separate distribution label under the Disney umbrella, similar to Marvel Studios or Lucasfilm. Those parts of the company will still need people to run them and handle various jobs inside.

While it's easy to assume that layoffs will hurt a lot of the people in smaller positions, and it certainly will, nobody is entirely immune from layoffs. The new company doesn't necessarily need any more vice presidents or other top level executives than it already has, so some layoffs will take place at every level. Though, certainly things will hurt the lower level employees more.

Most of these layoffs will likely come from the Fox side of things. Disney is the company retaining control over the new company, it's easier for Disney to simply keep all its people in place and simply add in the necessary Fox people, but there's no way to know for sure.

It shows just how big the new Walt Disney Company will be that it is adding an entirely new film division, some smaller film subsidiaries, like Fox Searchlight, as well as new cable channels, and more, and will still need to layoff something close to 7,500 people. THR says that the massive merger between AT&T and Time Warner won't result in nearly as many lost jobs. While there are some undeniably cool things that a Disney/Fox merger may create on the content side of things, it can't be overstated that this merger is changing the media landscape forever.

Wheels will begin turning next week once the merger is official and the new Walt Disney Company begins to move forward and figure out what it is going to be. Hopefully, the people who find themselves without a home in the new company won't be without a job for too long.

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Iron Man Creation Timeline- How Marvel's Gamble On Tony Stark Paid Off

Iron Man Creation Timeline- How Marvel's Gamble On Tony Stark Paid Off

With Avengers: Endgame being hailed as one of the biggest love letters to the MCU to date, it feels like a good time to revisit the film and the character that started it all, Iron Man. Believe it or not, the world almost got Tony Stark in theaters much sooner than when it actually premiered. Here's a breakdown of the years leading up to Iron Man, and the studios, actors, and directors who almost had a hand in it.

The Beginning- (1990)

The first mention of Iron Man in a film surfaced in 1990 in a couple of ways. Tony Stark was considered as a character who could possibly be included in Death Of The Incredible Hulk, but the idea was ultimately scrapped for Hulk sacrificing his own life instead. It's a shame we didn't get to see an early 90s live-action Tony, if only to see if it's as laughably bad as other live-action Marvel characters of the era.

Universal Studios had the rights to Iron Man during this time, and while Re-Animator director and Honey I Shrunk The Kids writer Stuart Gordon was approached to direct a low-budget feature, that never happened. That same year Robert Downey Jr. starred in the movie Too Much Sun, which was written and directed by his father Robert Downey Sr. It was just one of ten films the father and son duo would do together over the years.

The 20th Century Fox Years (1996-1997)

20th Century Fox ended up acquiring the rights to Iron Man, and from that point on some really interesting things happened. At least, more interesting things than whatever happened at Universal, which as mentioned before, didn't do a lot. The first eleven months of the character's acquisition were quiet, and then word surfaced in early 1997 a young actor fresh off of a big Hollywood film was interested in playing the hero.

That man was none other than Con/Air actor Nicolas Cage. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information out there about any discussions that happened, or how serious Cage actually was about playing Tony Stark. What we do know is that he did a costume test for Tim Burton's Superman that same year, so maybe his interest laid more in playing a superhero than anything? We can only speculate, although it is worth noting he's done a handful of superhero roles since.

Stan Lee's Iron Man Script (1998-1999)

The year 1998 brought another big celebrity to Fox's doors, as Tom Cruise said he was interested in producing and starring in an Iron Man feature. Sometime later I-Robot screenwriter Jeff Vintar teamed up with Stan Lee to write a story that re-imagined Iron Man's origin and featured the villain M.O.D.O.K. as the central villain. Plans eventually fell apart, and Goldeneye screenwriter Jeffrey Caine was brought in retool the script.

Then, things took a surprising turn when the studio approached Quentin Tarantino to write and direct an Iron Man movie. What was his vision? Was Samuel L. Jackson involved? How many times did Tony Stark drop an f-bomb? It could've happened, but unfortunately Fox ended up selling off the rights. While the studio liked Lee and Vintar's script, they just had too many Marvel films in development to commit.

New Line Cinema's Iron Man Script (2000-2001)

It was the start of a new millennium, and with New Line Cinema in ownership of the rights to Iron Man, a new hope that a movie would be made was born. A new script was commissioned with Pirates of the Caribbean writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and The Iron Giant's Tim McCanlies helping out with writing as well. This script was also an origin story, but with corporate villains.

Another interesting part about this script was that it allegedly included a Nick Fury cameo. According to rumors from insiders at the time (via Comics2Film), the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was set to make an appearance, over a decade before it actually did in The Avengers. Coincidentally enough, New Line also entered into discussions with Joss Whedon to direct. Was it the Helicarrier mention that caught him? Because that connection is just too good.

Iron Man vs. Howard Stark? (2002-2004)

New Line Cinema finished the script in 2002, and New Line got John Q and The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes on board to direct. This time, the plot put Tony up against his father, Howard Stark. That's right, Howard Stark was the bad guy, and would eventually weaponize Tony's design to create, wait for it, War Machine.

Thankfully, nothing happened with that idea and New Line Cinema eventually lost Nick Cassavetes. (He released Alpha Dog not long after). With the studio's main prospect gone, New Line Cinema ended up relinquishing its rights to Iron Man, which sent it back to Marvel.

Back Home With Marvel (2005-2006)

After years away, Iron Man was finally home. Unfortunately, it had lost all interested parties in the process. For a time, Marvel struggled to find a writer due to it being strictly a Marvel production and the obscurity of Iron Man. Marvel decided to hold a campaign to raise awareness about the character, and commissioned future Deadpool director Tim Miller to make shorts that showcased the character's abilities.

The studio eventually landed Jon Favreau, who had a vision for a character finding redemption as a hero in what could be a bit of a spy thriller. He originally wanted to go with an unknown actor as the lead, but became hooked on Robert Downey Jr. after seeing how the actor's personal struggles mimicked that of Tony Stark. Marvel tried to push back on the hire, but Favreau wouldn't budge. The rest, as they say, is history.

It Wasn't Quite That Easy Though (2007)

Iron Man had its cast, a passionate director, and apparently, that was enough to go into filming. The script wasn't fully complete, which led to a lot of improvised dialogue, on-set rewrites, and actors doing multiple takes for lines they came up with on the spot. As Jeff Bridges would describe many years later, it was like shooting a $200 million student film.

For all intents and purposes, it could've been a train wreck. Yet, Iron Man succeeded in theaters and started one of the most impressive cinematic runs in movie history. It's even more impressive understanding the history involved, and how it could've all turned out radically different had a few things gone differently. Luckily, it didn't and audiences have been able to celebrate Robert Downey Jr.'s impressive run as the character for over a decade.

That run continues in Avengers: Endgame, which is currently in theaters. Stick with CinemaBlend for all the analysis on it and what comes next for Marvel in the future.

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When Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Will Reportedly Start Filming

When Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Will Reportedly Start Filming

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a serious roll in Phase Three, as every single blockbuster has been a critical and box office success. The last decade of filmmaking will come to a head when Avengers: Endgame arrives next month, before Marvel Studios begins working on the next slate of films. Phase Four (if that's what it will be called) will begin with Spider-Man: Far From Home, but the MCU after that sequel is a complete mystery.

One of the biggest questions looming around the future of the MCU is the state of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn was fired by Disney in July, resulting in the project being put on indefinite hold. But now the director/writer has been brought back to finish his trilogy of movies. Although considering Gunn's involvement in The Suicide Squad for DC, it wasn't clear when filming will begin for Guardians 3. But now we may have an idea.

According to Production Weekly (via Comic Book), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will begin production in February of 2021. The film was originally set to follow Spider-Man: Far From Home, although now it looks like we'll have to wait a number of years before the motley crew of heroes finally arrive in theaters. Still, it's exciting to see that the project is back in active development.

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 reportedly going into production years from now, one thing is clear: Marvel fans will have to go a number of years without seeing the Guardians on the silver screen. Filming for Marvel movies is usually extensive, as is the editing and post-production process. So it wouldn't seem out of the question for the upcoming threequel to arrive in 2022. Fans should enjoy their role in Avengers: Endgame, because it's going to be a while before they return to theaters.

Of course, the report by Production Weekly hasn't been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios, so it's certainly possible that things will turn out differently. But given how James Gunn was only just reinstated for Guardians 3, the movie can't jump right into production. Gunn will reportedly focus on The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. first, which may explain the years gap before filming for the Guardians theequel begins. He'll also have to complete his draft of the Guardians 3 script, which was finished around the time of his departure.

Now that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is officially happening with James Gunn behind the camera, the most obvious question is exactly how the titular team of heroes will unite, given the events of Avengers: Infinity War. The Guardians were hit hard by Thanos' assault on the galaxy, starting with Gamora being killed so he could acquire the Soul Stone. And when Thanos snapped his fingers, audiences were left to watch as Mantis, Drax, Star-Lord and Groot faded to dust before our eyes.

Rocket and Nebula are the only characters left, and will be joining The Avengers for their mysterious mission to fight Thanos in Endgame. Hopefully they'll reverse the affects of the snap, and somehow bring Gamora back to life as well.

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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The Huge Amount The Lion King Could Make In Its Opening Weekend

The Huge Amount The Lion King Could Make In Its Opening Weekend

The summer kicked off with a bang with Avengers: Endgame, currently the second highest-grossing movie of all time. Analysts and movie buffs are trying to find what the next big hit of the summer will be and all evidence is pointing toward The Lion King. The remake of the classic film is due to hit theaters in July and when it does, it will do so with a roar. Current projections for The Lion King have it opening to $201 million and a total domestic gross of $650 million.

Disney is no stranger to remaking the most iconic animated films in its library. It's found massive success in films like The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, both of which were one of the highest-grossing films of the respective years they were released. So, no one was surprised when The Lion King was called up to the plate, with Jon Favreau leading the charge with cutting-edge photo-realistic technology.

The Lion King is beloved by multiple generations and those fans will turn out big time when the remake arrives in theaters. According to BoxOfficePro, The Lion King could open within the range of $180-$230 million. If that happens, the 2019 Lion King would top Beauty and the Beast's $174 million as the biggest opening weekend of any Disney "live-action" remake.

There are multiple factors working in The Lion King's favor. First off, the reaction to the trailer for The Lion King has been well received. The first trailer received 225 million views in the first 24 hours, which was ranked second all-time among all studio releases at that time. For comparison, Beauty and the Beast's trailer scored 128 million in its first day.

Additionally, in a recent Fandango survey, the film ranked as the most anticipated summer family film, ahead of Toy Story 4, Aladdin, and The Secret Life of Pets 2.

The original Lion King was the second-highest grossing film of 1994 with $312.9 million. After adjusting for 2019 ticket prices, that number jumps to over $680 million -- not including the 2011 re-release that scored $94.2 million domestic. Accounting for inflation, it's the second highest original run by any animated release, behind only Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (over $700 million).

In short, people love The Lion King. The animated movie won two Oscars, a Golden Globe, and two Grammys, and it has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie checks a lot of boxes and appeals to a very wide audience. The 2019 Lion King is the last family friendly movie until November, so it has ample room to stretch its legs and build up a nice total.

The only real thing working against The Lion King, is that Disney has proven to not be bullet-proof with its remakes. Just earlier this year, Dumbo underperformed with $112 million domestic, while this weekend's Aladdin is still unclear.

However, it seems inevitable that The Lion King will reign supreme from Pride Rock when it releases on July 19, 2019.

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Sean Gunn Was Surprised By Guardians Of The Galaxy's Massive Success

Sean Gunn Was Surprised By Guardians Of The Galaxy's Massive Success

It seems so silly in hindsight knowing what we know now, but prior to its release, the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie was seen as a big gamble on the part of Marvel Studios. These were quirky D-list characters with zero name recognition that were almost completely divorced from the heroes the studio had spent six years building up. How could they possibly succeed?

Of course, Marvel knew better and Guardians of the Galaxy went on to become a major hit, so much so that even those who believed in the project were blown away. Among them was writer-director James Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn, who plays Kraglin and the on-set Rocket Raccoon in the films. Sean Gunn was surprised by just how massive the first movie's success was, as he explained:

I always felt pretty confident that we would have something on our hands, at least that people liked, but I never ever imagined that it would be the massive, massive hit that it was. I never thought that they would be able to sell so much; that it would be marketed so well; and that kids would identify so well to it; and that people would compare it to their favorite 80s movies.

As someone who was aware of what his brother was capable of and had read the script, Sean Gunn knew that the doubters were wrong. He saw the potential of Guardians of the Galaxy and how special it could be, and that audiences would like it. Yet even with the confidence of having been a part of the film, Sean Gunn still couldn’t have predicted that it would be a hit on the massive level that it was.

As Sean Gunn told ComicBook.com, Marvel marketed this seemingly risky movie well and Guardians of the Galaxy wound up striking a major chord with audiences. Moviegoers of all ages found something to love, from younger audiences falling in love with the characters to how it reminded older audiences of the films of the 1980s. This brilliant alchemy resulted in an unqualified smash hit.

That first Guardians of the Galaxy came out in August of 2014 and went on to make $773.3 million worldwide to become one of Marvel’s biggest movies, surpassing all but Iron Man 3 and The Avengers at the time. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was even bigger and earned $863.7 million worldwide.

These former D-listers are now a billion dollar property and household names. They even have their own ride at Disneyland and one coming to Walt Disney World. That level of massive success probably would have surprised even the most pie-in-the-sky optimist of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy succeeded on its own merits, but also because it no longer matters if characters are considered A-list. As Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Captain Marvel have proven, Marvel is the selling point that gets people in the door and then the characters do the rest.

The success looks to continue for the Guardian,  because Sean Gunn’s brother James is returning to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. That film is still a few years away, but when it becomes another box office hit, no one will be surprised.

You don’t have to wait that long to see the Guardians though, because they, along with the rest of the MCU, are a part of this weekend’s Avengers: Endgame. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see what you can look forward to this summer movie season.

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Watch The Awesome Trailer For Universal’s New Jurassic World Ride

Watch The Awesome Trailer For Universal’s New Jurassic World Ride

Last year, the legendary theme park attraction Jurassic Park: The Ride sailed its final voyage through Isla Nublar and closed down for refurbishment at Universal Studios Hollywood. That refresh was in the name of an updated attraction that swam in the same waters, but in service of promoting the Jurassic World franchise.

Now we have our first hint at what the updated attraction will look like, with the trailer below. Dear readers, welcome, to Jurassic World: The Ride:

The trailer starts out simple enough, with a western being filmed on the Universal Studios backlot. But before things get too shooty, an astronaut runs into frame with a familiar one word warning: “Run!” As one would expect, the chase scatters a bunch of other costumed actors running through the Universal lot, which results in Roberta the Tyrannosaurus Rex breaking through the Universal Studios arch.

It’s at this point that Jurassic World: The Ride finally shows itself through our first look at what exactly will be part of this new theme park attraction; and it’s here where we see something rather interesting. Pictured in the video is a boat that looks like one of the boats last seen in the Jurassic Park: The Ride attraction, only this time it’s stopped in the middle of the attraction.

Conveniently enough, the boat is stopped in front of a Mosasaurus tank, just in time for the beastie to charge towards the glass and make a hole. Water squirts out, the audience looks frightened and the boat moves on to bigger, scarier thrills, like the previously confirmed showdown between the famed T-Rex and “new behemoth dinosaurs.”

While Jurassic World: The Ride sounded pretty intense when described in the vaguest of terms, this new ride’s promise of more realistic terror is even more promising. The footage of how the ride’s supposed to work only makes for more excitement, as it looks like a digital screen approach similar to the Fast & Furious: Supercharged or Skull Island: Reign of Kong attractions, which be used to show some of the creatures at hand.

Though we wouldn’t count out any thrills and spills using original, or brand new, animatronics in Jurassic World: The Ride, as even those updated attractions still retain an actual physical element to their thrills. Of course, this is all speculation at this moment, but for now, taking a look into the world of this future adventure 65 million years in the making has us longing for our first chance to take that ride for ourselves.

Jurassic World: The Ride does not have an official opening date past the originally specified timeframe of this summer. However, Universal Studios Hollywood recommends checking back on their official website for any future updates.

And if you still want to ride Jurassic Park: The Ride, it’s still in operation at Universal Studios Japan, as well as Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando for the time being. Which has us wondering if any revamps to the latter park’s attraction could involve Roberta squaring off against Fluffy from the Harry Potter series. Just a suggestion, Universal.

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Zac Efron Had Trouble Separating Himself From Ted Bundy In Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile

Zac Efron Had Trouble Separating Himself From Ted Bundy In Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile

Zac Efron will always be known for breaking into song as teen heartthrob Troy Bolton in the High School Musical movies, Link Larkin in Hairspray, or alongside Hugh Jackman and Zendaya in The Greatest Showman, among his other acting projects. Getting the catchy showtunes of his past out of his head was nothing compared to playing his darkest role yet, serial killer Ted Bundy.

During the recent London premiere of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile, the actor opened up about how portraying Bundy became a challenge due to its sinister subject. In his words:

I’ve never played a role in which I really have to separate myself from [him] when I go home at night, and it was almost impossible. I’d like to say that I did it successfully, but I couldn’t.

It’s no surprise that getting into the frame of mind to play a serial killer would mess with one’s head a bit, and Zac Efron experienced this firsthand while working on his upcoming Netflix project. The drama chronicles the crimes of the infamously attractive Bundy, who later confessed to 30 homicides he committed across the United States in the ‘70s.

In Zac Efron’s interview with Daily Mail at the premiere, he talked about his initial concern with taking on the dark role and why he ultimately decided to sign on to play Ted Bundy:

I really wasn’t interested in playing a serial killer, I’m not in the business of glamorizing a horrendous person or his acts, but there is something unique about the way we went into the psyche of Ted, and his longtime girlfriend Liz. It’s a different perspective and not your run-of-the-mill serial killer cliché -- body count gets higher and higher and oh the guy you always knew did it, did it.

Looks like Zac Efron was intrigued by the Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile script and how it tells the story from the perspective of Ted Bundy’s girlfriend Liz (played by Lily Collins). The film has been criticized for glamorizing the criminal with the casting of the former Disney teen idol, but the actor has previously explained the responsibility he feels to not celebrate the killer through the role. It’s instead meant to serve as a cautionary tale to the young generation who often mistakenly trust attractive men.

The film’s director Joe Berlinger (who also recently helmed Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: Ted Bundy Tapes) said he felt casting Zac Efron was an intentional choice geared toward the demographic crushing on actors such as Efron who may feel like he could do no wrong due to his good looks. Ted Bundy manipulated and lured women with his charm, so the film seeks to show this firsthand with Efron’s performance.

After premiering earlier this year at Sundance, the R-rated drama was purchased by Netflix for $9 million. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile will hit theaters and the streaming platform on May 3.

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Watch Chris Evans And The Avengers Cast Turn Infinity War Into A Cute Children’s Story

Watch Chris Evans And The Avengers Cast Turn Infinity War Into A Cute Children’s Story

Avengers: Infinity War may have been a movie full of comic book superheroes that kids love, but that doesn't mean it was a film suitable for all ages. Jimmy Kimmel apparently felt that small children needed a version of the story they could handle, and so a Jimmy Kimmel Live children's storybook has been created, and the Avengers themselves took time to read it to your little ones last night. Check it out in the video below.

The story of Avengers: Infinity War and the extermination of half the universe certainly sounds less terrible when it's spoken of in rhyming verse and accompanied by colorful pictures. Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, and Don Cheadle are all on hand to tell parts of the story. It still ends the same way, which is probably going to make some children sad, but it leaves hope at the end teasing that Avengers: Endgame is coming to finish the story very soon.

There are some truly hilarious parts of the video. Everybody giving Thor a hard time for not going for Thanos' head is great, and something that Chris Hemsworth has certainly heard before. Hemsworth, for his part, has a pretty decent rebuttal, that at least Thor actually did some damage to Thanos and came close to succeeding, which none of the rest of the team really did.

Of course, Hemsworth himself has plenty of blame to throw around. He calls out Star-Lord for ruining the plan to get the Infinity Gauntlet off Thanos' arm, which we've certainly also heard before.

The highlight of storytime, however, may be when every reader stops reading and calls out whoever wrote the verse of the book for trying to rhyme Groot with soot. Needless to say, it doesn't scan. Most of the team ends up mispronouncing soot to rhyme with Groot, but nobody is happy about it. There were plenty of other characters whose names could have been used if you can't find a suitable rhyme for Groot.

Jimmy Kimmel is certainly right in his introduction to the piece that it's no fun to see Spider-Man die. The end of Avengers: Infinity War, while being somewhat predictable for fans who were familiar with the source material, was no less shocking, even to them. The fact that a major Marvel Cinematic Universe movie ended with half of our favorite heroes turning to dust was still the sort of moment that blew people away.

What comes next, we're all still only guessing about. While we fully expect our heroes to win in the end, exactly how that will happen, or who will still be standing when it does, is fueling endless speculation. There's certainly no guarantee that if Avengers: Endgame becomes its own children's' book, that it will have any happier an ending.

We'll find out when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters April 26.

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Will Detective Pikachu Be Able To Best Avengers: Endgame At The Box Office?

Will Detective Pikachu Be Able To Best Avengers: Endgame At The Box Office?

The last couple of weeks at the box office have been all about Avengers: Endgame, as other studios gave the Disney juggernaut, which has now passed Titanic to become the second-biggest movie of all time, a wide berth both before and after its release. But now other contenders are coming for Thanos’ throne atop the box office, starting this weekend with a tiny, electric-type Pokémon that happens to sound a lot like Deadpool. So will Detective Pikachu be able to best Avengers: Endgame at the box office?

The short answer is probably not, but Detective Pikachu isn’t going to crash and burn like so many of its video game movie forbears either. According to Deadline, the Pokémon franchise’s first foray into live-action on the big screen is looking at a domestic opening weekend in the $50 million to $55 million range from over 4,200 theaters.

That should be good enough for second to Avengers: Endgame as the MCU’s history-making film continues its quest to topple Avatar. Endgame is tracking at making $75-$85 million in its third weekend in release, which will be enough to hold on to the top spot at the box office and withstand Pikachu’s thunder if the tracking proves accurate.

There’s no shame in taking second place to Avengers: Endgame. Pokémon is a global property and domestic audiences won’t be the only ones trying to catch ‘em all at the theater this weekend. Detective Pikachu is projected to make $90-$120 million overseas this weekend for a worldwide opening weekend of upwards of $160 million.

Of that overseas haul, $40-$60 million is expected to come from China, where Legendary Pictures’ parent company Wanda Group is based. That gives it a leg up and the film is receiving positive buzz, but it may not get an abundance of favorable showtimes from theaters due to it being treated like an animated movie.

The continued presence of Avengers: Endgame, which has naturally slowed but is still huge, makes it difficult to know just how well Detective Pikachu will do, but it does have some things going for it that could help it over-perform. In addition to the star power of Ryan Reynolds, Detective Pikachu is enjoying decent, but not glowing, reviews and currently sits at 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.

That’s better than most video game movies and Detective Pikachu also has the benefit of a large and resurgent fanbase thanks to the popularity of the Pokémon Go mobile game. These factors have some thinking that this movie could be a surprise at the box office.

Back in March, the long-range tracking on this $150 million film had it landing in the $75-$90 million range. So a $50-$55 million domestic opening weekend would be considerably less than that, but personally I feel like Detective Pikachu is being underestimated and could land closer to those earlier predictions, making it another example of the difficulty of box office prognosticating.

It may not make enough to topple Endgame; that may be a job for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum or Aladdin. But either way Detective Pikachu is looking at a solid start to a likely franchise.

Detective Pikachu opens in theaters this weekend. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the big movies headed your way this summer.

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Why Dark Phoenix Reshot Its Original Ending, According To Simon Kinberg

Why Dark Phoenix Reshot Its Original Ending, According To Simon Kinberg

The following story will not contain spoilers for Dark Phoenix**. However, we will discuss the story a bit, so on the off chance you want to go into next week’s release knowing absolutely nothing, stop reading right now.**

Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) seems destined to interact with the Phoenix force. It happens in comics, in one of Marvel’s most popular comic storylines. It happened in the initial run of X-Men movies, captured in The Last Stand. And now that the timeline has been reset via X-Men: Days of Futures Past, it’s about to happen to the version of Jean that we met in X-Men: Apocalypse.

Longtime X-Men writer and producer Simon Kinberg steps into the director’s chair for Dark Phoenix, which opens everywhere on June 7. And in a recent chat with EW, he dropped a terrific tease of an alternate ending to his debut film that he ended up reshooting, mentioning only that it took place in outer space. (This isn’t so far-fetched, as trailers have shown us that the X-Men are on a space mission when Jean interacts with the Phoenix in this film.)

As a rabid fan of the X-Men characters, I was curious about this original ending, though when I asked Kinberg about it during a recent press event in London for Dark Phoenix, he candidly told me why he thought the space finale had to be changed. He told CinemaBlend:

That was a version that was when it was sort of the less-grounded version of the movie. … It wasn’t a version of the movie where the X-Men and the family are -- we weren’t as focused on them coming together at the end of the movie. It was really more entirely Jean, and what it lacked was this sort of emotional closure. Thinking of this movie as the sort of culmination of all of the X-Men movies, where these strangers have become this sort of surrogate family, and then in this movie they get challenged like they’ve never been challenged before, it felt like at the end of the movie, it would be much more satisfying for the audience to both see Jean have extraordinary power… but also see the X-Men come back together as a family and perform. I sort of wanted to do both.

How they come together, we will leave it for you to learn by checking out Dark Phoenix. But it can be shared that one of the most exciting elements of the new film is the fact that we see the X-Men working together as a team for one of the few times in franchise history (for real, this group is usually so fractured and ostracized), so it makes sense why Simon Kinberg made the decisions that he made.

In Dark Phoenix, the X-Men must figure out a way to contain one of their own after Jean (Sophie Turner) encounters an alien force that greatly amplifies her natural mutation.

The movie co-stars X-Men alums James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, while giving more screen time to Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Dark Phoenix is being viewed as the culmination of this X-Men saga, so see where the story goes on June 7.

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To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Avengers: Endgame Ticket

To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Avengers: Endgame Ticket

Avengers: Endgame hit theaters last weekend, and by now a lot of us have caught it at least once. If you are thinking about a second viewing, there are options to trade up from a regular screen and try IMAX, 3D screenings, DLX screenings and more. While I can't give you all of the nitty gritty details about every single one of the viewing options out there, I can capably answer whether or not it's better to 3D or not to 3D.

Please note this isn't a traditional review for Avengers: Endgame. If you are looking around for our review, you can head over to our detailed, yet spoiler-free review. This column is all about watching in 3D and the mileage you'll get compared to a regular screening of Marvel's biggest event movie so far.

So, if you haven't already, throw on some comfy clothes, grab some popcorn and make sure you have your 3D glasses handy as we figure out together whether or not it's worth shelling out some extra moolah for a 3D ticket. You'll be helping the movie hit $2 billion at this point, after all.

Avengers: Endgame is exactly the type of movie you'd expect to get a 3D conversion. It's an action movie with lots of eye-popping digital effects and it had a giant budget to play with, so there are no concerns about skimping on the 3D here. If you are a fan of 3D, this is likely exactly the type of movie you would see in 3D, other than something specifically shot for 3D, like Avatar or the upcoming Gemini Man. Barring those, this is a high tier candidate for seeing a movie in 3D. That said, while the 3D conversion is pretty admirable, there are scenes in this movie that don't really beg for 3D effects, so I'm dropping this to a 4--still a strong score.

In terms of planning and effort, obviously, as noted prior, Avengers: Endgame was conceived as an action movie and not a 3D feast for the eyes first. Despite that, care was absolutely taken with the 3D; if anything it just means that certain scenes didn't lend themselves as much as other scenes to a 3D narrative. A scene with Hawkeye chasing bad guys (really too vague to be a spoiler) who break through glass windows may stand out in 3D while a few seconds later a showdown with the same character has much less noticeable 3D value. This seems like it has more to do with a lack of planning specifically for 3D than a lack of effort. So, I'd say very good here, but not great.

Again, while I could argue not every scene in Avengers: Endgame has great "Before the Window" value, aka, the ability for objects to come off the screen, the stuff that works really works. In particular, anytime there's a heavily reliant CGI scene -- like the space scene teased in the trailer -- the 3D also pops. In particular, there's also a scene where Tony Stark is working in his home and the camera is at an angle from above on a stairwell. There's a pole that jumps out onscreen that gives real spacial dimension. Small details like that stand out without ever feeling goofy.

Real backgrounds don't lend themselves to 3D depth as much as animated or CGI backgrounds do. While there are a few scenes that work particularly well in the "Beyond the Window" category, I wouldn't say this is anywhere close to Avengers: Endgame's 3D strength. Backgrounds are not consistently blurry or anything, but Endgame is often a stark and not a lush movie; it's just not really exciting to make 3D walls or cars parked on the street in the background stand out.

Brightness score is a tough one, because certain scenes in Avengers: Endgame are notably dark. However, despite this, I never felt as if my 3D experience was too dark due to the format or the 3D glasses. Plus, a lot of scenes in Endgame both lend themselves to 3D and are really bright in 3D. So, I’m going to give this category a 5, but know that the movie is not the same consistent level of brightness throughout and please factor that in.

While we don't want blur while watching a 3D movie with glasses on, consistent blur when taking the glasses off, you know to wipe the tears off your face during particularly sentimental scenes or whatever, is a good thing. I periodically took my glasses off during Avengers: Endgame, not to cry (OK maybe to cry), and I found the blur factor to be consistent and to be prevalent over most of the screen, giving the movie a satisfying level of depth and consideration. Do not try watching this movie with your glasses off.

Having seen Avengers: Endgame once before, this was actually the category I was most dreading. There's a lot of action in this film, and scenes with a lot of movement typically have the most trouble in this category as action in 3D can often make people queasy. Avengers: Endgame is unlike some of the earlier Marvel movies in this respect, as its action, even during scenes with a lot of characters moving at once, is very smooth and engaging in 3D. There is one scene early on in the movie that did feel too jiggly for a hot second, but it was during a quick moment of action and it was the only time I noticed this being an issue during the whole film. If we gave half scores in this column, I might bump it to a 4.5 because of that, but that's not enough of an issue for me to grade a 4 in this category, so 5 baby!

While not perfect, I really did enjoy Avengers: Endgame in 3D and would see it again in 3D if someone wanted to go with me to another viewing. I should note I also saw the film on a Superscreen DLX (similar to IMAX but a little smaller), which meant I had a bigger screen than some 3D moviegoers, and your experience could vary a little because of that.

Ultimately though, if you like 3D, there really should be nothing stopping you from seeing this in 3D, particularly given the myriad screenings as well as the quality of the 3D conversion. While I wouldn't say you 100% absolutely must see this movie in 3D, I wouldn't shy away from recommending it, either. I will say, no matter what option you choose, see it on the biggest screen possible. It's the endgame, after all.

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Sophie Turner Calls Working With Bryan Singer On X-Men: Apocalypse ‘Unpleasant’

Sophie Turner Calls Working With Bryan Singer On X-Men: Apocalypse ‘Unpleasant’

It's no secret that superhero movies are everywhere. The comic book genre is massively popular, so tons of studios are trying to get in on the game. But before comic book movies became commonplace, the X-Men franchise was there. Starting back in 2000, the mutant-centric property has routinely released new blockbusters, with Dark Phoenix set to arrive this summer.

Sophie Turner is taking center stage on Dark Phoenix, after being introduced as a young mutant in X-Men: Apocalypse. That movie was directed by franchise creator Bryan Singer, and brought in some new characters alongside the First Class ensemble and Oscar Isaac. But according to Turner, she didn't have a good time working with the controversial director. She recently spoke to this, citing Rami Malek's recent comments about Singer. As she put it:

Our time together was, like Rami said, unpleasant.

While becoming a superhero was a great did for Sophie Turner, it doesn't look like she enjoyed her time working alongside Bryan Singer in X-Men: Apocalypse. Ultimately she seems to have persevered, as she'll be the titular character of Dark Phoenix.

Sophie Turner's comments come from her recent profile from Rolling Stone. Bryan Singer has had a long career as a filmmaker, but he's currently got his share of controversies. Singer was recently accused of sexual misconduct, and was seemingly removed from a variety projects in response. He was famously removed from Bohemian Rhapsody before it was completed, which put the project in jeopardy during filming. And recently, Singer was removed from his Red Sonja reboot.

In her conversation with Rolling Stone, Sophie Turner directly mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek. About two months ago, Malek finally broke his silence about Bryan Singer, in the wake of his sexual misconduct allegations. When describing his working relationship with the director, he said:

I've sat here and talked about how everyone deserves a voice and anyone who wants to talk about what happened with Bryan deserves to have their voice heard. In my situation with Bryan, it was not pleasant, not at all. And that's about what I can say about it at this point. ... For anyone who is seeking any solace in all of this, Bryan Singer was fired. Bryan Singer was fired, I don't think that was something anyone saw coming but I think that had to happen and it did.

Rami Malek's quote was meant to give solace to some of Bohemian Rhapsody's critics, as the movie was celebrated, and therefore so was Bryan Singer's work as director.

It's fascinating to see how both Sophie Turner and Rami Malek had such a hard time working with Bryan Singer, considering his long tenure in the business. It's a wonder that someone could be so successful, while also being so difficult to work with. But in the modern age, this seems like a trend that is falling out.

You can see Sophie Turner return as Jean Grey when Dark Phoenix arrives in theaters on June 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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Forrest Gump Is Getting A Bollywood Remake

Forrest Gump Is Getting A Bollywood Remake

Have you ever imagined the iconic line “Run Forrest Run” being said in Hindi, perhaps as the titular character starts off an extravagant musical number? Life really is like a box of chocolates, because an upcoming Forrest Gump movie will be the latest Hollywood hit to be remade by Bollywood.

The 1994 Best Picture winner has caught the eye of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who will take on the Tom Hanks role and co-produce an Indian version of the movie to be titled Lal Singh Chaddha, per Variety. The remake will be developed by both Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Khan’s production company.

Aamir Khan explained during the press announcement in Mumbai that he has always loved the Forrest Gump script, complementing the Oscar winner’s “life-affirming story” that is a feel good film for the whole family. The superstar hopes to come back from his 2018 commercial failure Thugs of Hindostan, the highest-budget Bollywood film ever, which lost big at the box office after many negative reviews.

The Bollywood star’s movies put together has also made the most at the box office worldwide than any other Indian actor. So it makes sense for Aamir Khan to take on the role famously played by America’s sweetheart, Tom Hanks, of course!

The recent announcement of the Indian Forrest Gump also came with the production’s plans to start filming this October and be released in 2020. It would certainly be interesting to see how Bollywood adapts the film, which has draws on many moments in American history such as Elvis Presley, the Vietnam War, racial desegregation, Watergate and Apple computers. Will the movie take on the events of the American film or draw on elements of Indian history?

The foreign genre is known for its huge song-and-dance numbers and melodrama, and some aspects of Forrest Gump certainly can be translated this way. It’s a larger-than-life story with a mix of romance, drama and comedy, and it would be a blast to see this kind of retelling.

India has remade tons of Hollywood movies in the past including Ms. Doubtfire, Christopher Nolan’s Memento, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, When Harry Met Sally and another Tom Hank’s led movie, Big. The genre certainly seems to be fans of what the industry in America has produced and keeps finding inspiration by them.

Forrest Gump was the highest-grossing movie of 1994 – it made $677 million worldwide, though only made $46,282 in Indian theaters. The movie still holds the top spot for a summer drama release and received high-critical praise. Forrest Gump was nominated for 13 Oscars and won six for Best Picture, Best Actor for Tom Hanks, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Visual Effects.

It’ll be exciting to see how Lal Singh Chaddha does when it comes out in 2020. Anyone want to delve into a Bollywood Hollywood remakes marathon after this?

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The Story Behind Good Omens And All The Queen References

The Story Behind Good Omens And All The Queen References

Spoilers ahead for Good Omens on Amazon.

When Good Omens premiered on Amazon as an adaptation of the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett novel of the same name, it proved three things: the apocalypse can be hilarious, the characters could not have been better cast, and the music of Queen makes everything better.

While all the Queen tunes came as no surprise to book fans, viewers who never picked up a copy of the novel were undoubtedly at least a little perplexed at all the Freddie Mercury. Well, there is a reason for all the Queen, and the answer lies early in the text of Good Omens.

Viewers probably noticed that the Queen tunes generally played in scenes featuring Crowley and/or the Bentley. The explanation comes in the first 15 pages of Good Omens, saying this:

Crowley was currently doing 110 mph somewhere east of Slough. Nothing about him looked particularly demonic, at least by classical standards. No horns, no wings. Admittedly he was listening to a Best of Queen tape, but no conclusions should be drawn from this because all tapes left in a car for more than a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums.

When Good Omens was published in 1990, tapes were the non-radio way to play music in cars. Neil Gaiman revealed to Vulture that the joke about metamorphosing Queen tapes started when he and Terry Pratchett concocted the theory "that any cassette left in a car long enough turned into the best of Queen."

If the joke had stopped with just the one Queen mention in the book, the Good Omens show probably wouldn't have been packed with Queen songs. Instead, the book continued to show Crowley (and Aziraphale, on one occasion) trying to play some non-Queen music, only to be blasted with the tunes of Freddie Mercury.

Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" turned into "Bohemian Rhapsody," The Traveling Wilburys turned into a rendition of "Radio Ga Ga," Aziraphale was dismayed to hear "Another One Bites the Dust" play from a tape labeled "Tchaikovsky," and the angel and demon's attempts to listen to William Byrd, Beethoven, and Vaughan Williams turned into "We Are The Champions," "I Want To Break Free," and "Fat Bottomed Girls."

Crowley briefly considered putting the tape on which he'd trapped Hastur into the Bentley and leaving it for a fortnight, turning him into Freddie Mercury. He decided against it because, in the immortal words of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, "He might be a bastard, but you could only go so far."

Now, the differences between book and television meant that the show had the freedom to use Queen more liberally than the book, which basically required Crowley to be in the Bentley on the page. The show could just blast a Queen classic over whatever scene seemed most fitting.

Given that technology in the past 30 years has definitely moved away from cassette tapes, the Good Omens adaptation was bound to get creative with including the running Queen joke from the book. So, let's take a look back at some of the most notable Queen sequences from the show!

Crowley's Arrival - "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Although Crowley technically made his debut earlier in the first episode at the Garden of Eden, his arrival in the Bentley to the tune of "Bohemian Rhapsody" to pick up the Antichrist was a real entrance. Could the show have done anything more perfect than blast the "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for meeeeeeee" line as he pulled up?

Crowley's arrival was actually only one instance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" used in the series, as he was listening to it again later in the episode when Satan broke in with some instructions for the Antichrist. The song would play again at the end of the fifth episode and beginning of the sixth, when Crowley made an epic entrance at the airfield, followed shortly by the flaming Bentley exploding.

So why does Crowley's arrival get special mention among the many uses of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the show? Well, not only was it the first Queen song in the series, but it also marked an instance of a song playing in-universe for Crowley in the Bentley and as part of the soundtrack. "Bohemian Rhapsody" became his anthem thanks to this scene.

Anathema Hitches A Ride - "Bicycle Race"

Another memorable Queen sequence came in the second episode after a collision between Crowley in the Bentley and Anathema on her bicycle. Despite Aziraphale's shocked statement that Crowley hit somebody, Crowley countered that somebody hit him. (For what it's worth, Anathema did plow into the side of the Bentley.) Crowley begrudgingly agreed to giving Anathema a lift home, and the drive back to her cottage was oh-so-perfectly set to "Bicycle Race."

This scene is an example of a completely on-the-nose use of Queen for a Good Omens scene, and it appeared not to be a song actually playing in Crowley's car. Even if Crowley would have been impassive about it, surely Aziraphale or Anathema would have had a reaction to Crowley blasting "I want to ride my bicycle!" after colliding with Anathema on her bicycle.

Aziraphale's Bookshop Burns - "You're My Best Friend"

Things were getting out of control by the time Crowley climbed into his Bentley and raced to Soho to find Aziraphale in Episode 5, having just escaped Hastur and Ligur. Queen's uplifting "You're My Best Friend" played as Crowley grimly drove to the bookshop, which he discovered in flames. Regardless of the inferno, Crowley entered the bookshop in search of his best friend. It was a heartbreaking and fiery scene contrasting with the cheerful song to great effect.

The use of "You're My Best Friend" was unique in a couple of ways. Although it began while Crowley was in the Bentley, it wasn't clearly playing in-universe until Crowley raced into the burning bookshop when it could be heard coming from Aziraphale's dying gramophone. Since I'm guessing Aziraphale didn't deliberately buy a version of Queen's Greatest Hits for his gramophone, I'm going to count this as a subtle nod to the cassette joke from the book.

Crowley Braves The Blaze - "I'm In Love With My Car"

It was a sign of Crowley's desperation that he was willing to drive his beloved Bentley into the inferno surrounding London. When Hastur escaped from the answering machine tape and popped into the passenger seat of the Bentley, Crowley popped a CD into the player and floored it into the flames... to the tune of "I'm In Love With My Car."

If the gramophone playing "You're My Best Friend" was a subtle nod to the Queen cassette tape joke from the book, then "I'm In Love With My Car" was a total shoutout. Not because the book mentioned this particular Queen song -- because it didn't -- and not because Crowley really is pretty much in love with his car.

No, before "I'm In Love With My Car" actually began to play, the fifth episode showed Crowley popping a Mozart CD into the player. Crowley must have left it in his glove compartment for too long!

Crowley Needs Directions - "We Will Rock You"

By the time Crowley arrived in Tadfield in Episode 5, he was holding the burning Bentley together by sheer strength of will and imagination. He also never looked more demonic than when he pulled up in a flaming car, dressed in all black, and showing his yellow snake eyes without any sunglasses. His demonic look was contrasted with his polite request for directions from a Tadfield resident

Why is this one of the most noteworthy uses of Queen in Good Omens? Well, it's such a great combination of comedy, absurdity, and urgency, and "We Will Rock You" really highlights the ridiculousness of the situation in the best way. It is a ridiculous situation, as were most of Crowley and Aziraphale's attempts to stop the apocalypse. Of course this is one of the best sequences!

It was also arguably the last big moment for the Bentley, which would be destroyed shortly after arriving at the airbase in Episode 6 when Crowley had to start focusing on things other than holding his car together.

Honorable Mention: "Under Pressure" Trailer

Amazon released two big trailers for Good Omens ahead of the premiere, and both used Queen to perfection. The first showcased the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale with "You're My Best Friend," but the second used "Under Pressure" to hype everything that was to come.

The right music can make a trailer completely unforgettable, as with Stranger Things' "Thriller" trailer for Season 2 and "Baba O'Riley" trailer for Season 3, and "Under Pressure" was guaranteed to get stuck in your head and make you remember that Good Omens was on the way. For folks who had never read the book and didn't really know what was in store, "Under Pressure" was a great way to build anticipation.

You can catch all six episodes of Good Omens (with all of these and more Queen songs) streaming on Amazon now. The finished product is a wild ride, made all the better for one hilarious scene that almost didn't happen.

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