Marvel Has Given The First Three Phases Of The MCU An Epic Name

Marvel Has Given The First Three Phases Of The MCU An Epic Name

In just over a month’s time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 will come to an end in Avengers: Endgame. More than closing out Phase 3 though, Endgame also puts a cap on the first eleven years of the MCU, a journey that consists of three Phases and twenty-one films. We’ve been told that Avengers: Endgame represents a culmination; the end of the book and narrative that began with Iron Man. Now, as we race towards its climactic conclusion, we finally know what it’s called. And it is epic.

According to Empire Magazine, Kevin Feige has revealed that the first three phases of the MCU are called The Infinity Saga.

Yup, that is an appropriately epic and fitting name for the 21-film journey we have been on since 2008. It’s a super cool name that is going to look awesome emblazoned on a massive and expensive Blu-ray box set one day. Considering that we didn’t even know that these first three phases would have a specific name (think of all the speculation we missed out on!) beyond just Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, it is a pleasant surprise as well.

Marvel has clearly taken a page out of corporate brother Lucasfilm’s book with this name. Like ‘The Skywalker Saga’, the word ‘saga’ just conveys an extra level of grandiosity and has an epic quality to it, befitting a heroic tale, vast in scope and long in telling. Series or chronicle doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. The only thing that comes close is ‘cycle’ which is what George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novel series is often referred to as.

Sometimes the most obvious answers are the right ones and The Infinity Saga frankly sounds like the most obvious and appropriate name for the Marvel Cinematic Universe films to date.

The Tesseract, which contained the Space Stone, was introduced all the way back in Phase 1 in Captain America: The First Avenger and the Infinity Gauntlet (albeit a replica) first appeared in Thor. Thanos first appeared in the end-credits scene of The Avengers and he and the Infinity Stones have acted like a specter hanging over everything and propelling the plot ever since. That the Infinity Saga built to the Avengers: Infinity War shows that this name is the right one.

I’m honestly not sure what the MCU’s first three Phases would be called other than The Infinity Saga. The Stan Lee Saga would honor the man who Marvel owes so much to and left such a legacy in the films, but it wouldn’t speak to the story. The only other choice would have been The Avengers Saga, but we may get more Avengers movies after Endgame, so that wouldn’t hold as much weight.

There are more stories yet to come in the MCU, and Endgame is a demarcation line between what came before and what comes after. What’s interesting about finding out this name is that if The Infinity Saga is book 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what’s book 2?

We know so little about Phase 4 (if it’s even called that) that it’s difficult to make an educated guess at this point. The New Avengers Saga? The Secret Invasion Saga? The Galactus Saga? Or, wishful thinking here as this may be more book 3 material but The Mutant Saga? We probably won’t know for some time, maybe in another 21 films, but it’s fun to think about.

Avengers: Endgame concludes The Infinity Saga on April 26. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of this year’s biggest movies.

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Jurassic Park’s Jeff Goldblum Had The Best Response To Real Life Scientists Trying To Create Dinosaurs

Jurassic Park’s Jeff Goldblum Had The Best Response To Real Life Scientists Trying To Create Dinosaurs

When Jurassic Park was first written and then transformed into a blockbuster movie, the idea of recreating dinosaurs was pure science fiction. However, so often the only thing keeping science fiction from becoming reality is time, and now it appears that researchers think that bringing dinosaurs back from extinction is only a matter of time. If this strikes you as a supremely bad idea, because you've seen how this movie ends, you're not the only one. Jeff Goldblum sounded off on the news as well, as only he could...

Jeff Goldblum channels his character from Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm, and quotes himself in reference to whether or not bringing dinosaurs back is a good idea. As every Jurassic Park movie showed us, it was all a very bad idea.

And yet, it seems that scientists are trying to do exactly that. To be fair, it's not all exactly like Jurassic Park. It seems that due to the degradation that happens to DNA over time, actually finding actual dinosaur DNA would never actually work. Instead, it seems that the idea currently being worked on is taking the relationship between dinosaurs and modern birds and using that as the gateway to bring them back. The feeling is that it's possible to take a chicken's DNA and modify it in such a way that you could turn it into a small dino-chicken.

I don't see that as the plot of a future Jurassic Park sequel, but it is, without question, the the premise of a low budget knockoff where a flock of genetically modified chickens destroy a small Midwestern town.

In the end, this wouldn't recreate any species of dinosaur that ever existed, but I suppose it would give scientists an opportunity to study the closest possible thing. At the same time, one has to wonder what this does to the "chickensoras" which is seriously what they're actually calling it. Isn't it cruel and unusual to turn a chicken into something like that?

If we are really only five years away from a creating a version of a dinosaur, that is surely impressive, but Jeff Goldblum's comments do come ringing back. Just because science is capable of doing that, is that really something that science should be doing? It's not really clear exactly what the point actually is. There's only so much you'll be able to learn about actual dinosaurs by creating this artificial one. It seems like most of the important stuff would still be out of reach.

Still, we'll want to keep our eyes on this. If we're really only five years away, then somewhere between now and 2024 we could be looking at our own Jurassic Park. Even if it turns out to be little more than a petting zoo.

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Kingsman 3 Will Be The Final ‘Chapter’ Of Eggsy And Harry’s Story

Kingsman 3 Will Be The Final ‘Chapter’ Of Eggsy And Harry’s Story

When an upcoming Kingsman film appeared on the release board for late 2019, it was an exciting prospect to catch back up with Taron Egerton’s Eggsy and Colin Firth’s Harry Hart after 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle. However, it was later confirmed that the film would be a prequel lead by an entirely new cast. So, will the spy team we’ve grown to love ever come back? Check out this update from writer/director Matthew Vaughn about Kingsman 3:

We've got to finish off the Eggsy and Harry relationship. The final chapter of their relationship needs to be told, which we've got ready to do, and I'm hoping to shoot that later this year or the beginning of next year. But this Kingsman (prequel) has been pushed back to February 14th for coming out, and so, yeah, as soon as that's done, we're looking forward to… It's funny. As Taron was saying, he's looking forward to becoming Eggsy again, because emotionally it's a lot less draining.

Manners maketh man, and Matthew Vaughn is doing right by keeping fans in the loop with these words. As the filmmaker told Digital Spy, Kingsman 3 is in the works in addition to the prequel. The upcoming origin story to be titled Kingsman: The Great Game is being prioritized though, as it has a February 14, 2020 release date to make. Once the project, also written and directed by Vaughn, is complete, he plans to move over to the Kingsman trilogy closer right away.

Since The Golden Circle, Matthew Vaughn and Taron Egerton have collaborated again on the Elton John musical biopic Rocketman. Vaughn is a producer on the flick starring Egerton as the music icon. The connection between the back-to-back projects run even deeper, since Elton John himself had a memorable cameo in the spy sequel.

A ton of preparation went into Taron Egerton’s Elton John role, as he had to sing, dance and convincingly portray the musician, sometimes with the man himself in front of him. It’s been an emotional yet rewarding experience for the actor to star in Rocketman, but it has made him even more excited to return to his more familiar role as Eggsy and conclude the story that launched his career back in 2014.

Since The Great Game takes place during World War I (approximately 100 years before Eggsy began his life as a spy), Taron Egerton will understandably not be in the film. However, the movie has rounded out a cast full of impressive talent including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Matthew Goode, Gemma Arterton, Charles Dance, Daniel Brühl, Ralph Fiennes, Djimon Hounsou, Rhys Ifans and Stanley Tucci. Not much else is known about the Kingsman prequel, but it will reportedly serve as an origin story for the spy service.

Fans can now also look forward to some closure concerning Eggsy and Harry’s story arcs established with the Kingsman movies, though we’ll have to wait over a year (at least) before we see Colin Firth and Egerton return to these roles. In the meantime, you can catch Egerton in Rocketman this Friday, May 31.

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How Avengers: Endgame’s Writers See Their Future With Marvel

How Avengers: Endgame’s Writers See Their Future With Marvel

In the last 11 years, few filmmakers have had as big an effect on the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Initially the duo were hired by Marvel Studios to write the script for Captain America: The First Avenger, but not only did they go on to pen the entire Captain America trilogy, but they also developed both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame with directors Joe and Anthony Russo (not to mention they also created the Agent Carter television show). That’s an impressive track record all by itself – but fans will be excited to know that they still feel they have more to contribute to the franchise.

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for the latest episode of our HeroBlend podcast, and in addition to doing a deep dive into Avengers: Endgame, I also asked them about their current relationship with Marvel Studios. As you would expect following the release of one of the biggest movies of all time, the two sides are currently on excellent terms, and Markus made it sound like the door is open for them to potentially collaborate on another movie for the franchise at some point in the future:

We're all great friends. We are not at the moment on a Marvel job, but that's not to say that we wouldn't take another one when the right opportunity came up. We can't write a bigger movie. We can't raise the stakes. We can't do better at the box office. So, you know, if and when we come back it will be for probably one character in a small situation, and re-expand from there. But I don't know who that is.

So while as of right now it looks like Phase Four may be the first era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe not to feature a film scripted by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, that might not necessarily continue to be the case. The two writers aren’t working on a project for the franchise right now, but given the right inspiration it sounds like they’d be happy to jump right back into the action.

But what could that potential project be? Given the legacy of Marvel Comics it’s actually hard to make a specific guess – and it’s an even greater challenge now that the merger between the Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox has been completed. Now the two writers could not only potentially take on any of the classic Avengers characters, but Fantastic Four and all of the X-Men are now up for grabs as well. We’ll just have to wait for them to find the story that they want to tell.

This was just one of the subjects that I had the chance to talk about with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and you can actually listen to the full interview now as part of the latest episode of HeroBlend:

Is there a specific character that you’d like to see Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely take on in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Hit the comments section below with all of your thoughts, feelings, and ideas, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a lot more of our Avengers: Endgame coverage!

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Robert Pattinson Read Christopher Nolan's 'Unreal' New Script While Locked In A Room

Robert Pattinson Read Christopher Nolan's 'Unreal' New Script While Locked In A Room

The prestigious filmmaker behind Inception, the Dark Knight trilogy and, most recently, Dunkirk has another film abrewing and we can’t wait. We literally have no idea what the movie is titled or about, but that hasn’t stopped Christopher Nolan’s next endeavor from becoming one of the most highly-anticipated films.

The untitled Nolan project that has been described as a “massive innovative action blockbuster” will star Twilight’s Robert Pattinson, who recently admitted he already has all the details for the new movie. Here’s what he said:

I got locked in a room to read the script – I don't have it myself. I've been a little wary of doing big movies for years and years, but there's just something about Chris Nolan's stuff. He seems like the only director now who can do what is essentially a very personal, independent movie that has huge scale. I read the script and it's unreal.

Robert Pattinson’s words to USA Today certainly spark some further excitement for Christopher Nolan’s next movie. Since the Twilight franchise, the 32-year-old actor has stuck to independent, arthouse films such as last year’s critically-acclaimed Good Time, but starring in a Nolan movie will certainly place him back into the spotlight in a big way.

Considering the actor’s distaste for the typical big-budget blockbuster, which he no doubt has been offered and turned down, the upcoming Nolan movie seems to have him excited about doing a movie with a lot of eyes on it again. We can’t wait to see the actor take on another high-profile role all these years later.

Robert Pattinson will also be joined by John David Washington and Elizabeth Debicki, from the other casting information released so far. Washington recently led Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman and Debicki is a rising actress who was Ayesha in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and in Steve McQueen’s Widows.

Early reports about Christopher Nolan’s next movie had it pegged as a romantic thriller that would be a cross between North by Northwest in tone meets Inception, though these rumors were debunked by an unnamed source. So fans can expect the unexpected, though there is a certain flavor to Nolan’s filmmaking that has been woven into each of his movies so far, and we assume to see it continue in his next film.

Additionally, Christopher Nolan is known for enlisting Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine in a majority of his projects. Will the talents, or any of his other previous collaborators, also find a place in his next movie, or will he break this tradition and go for a completely fresh faces?

Robert Pattinson said he’s “sworn to secrecy” regarding the project, and considering he was literally locked in a room to read the script, Nolan is keeping this one especially under wraps. The movie will begin filming this year and hit theaters on July 17, 2020, back-to-back with a few other highly-anticipated summer releases Morbius and Ghostbusters 3. In the meantime, check out Pattinson’s newest sci-fi drama High Life in select theaters now.

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What Dumbo’s Cast Thinks About Animals Being Used In Entertainment

What Dumbo’s Cast Thinks About Animals Being Used In Entertainment

Looking back on the original Dumbo, it’s not exactly a film with a big message. After all, it only clocks in at a little over an hour long, and basically just about the misadventures of a baby elephant with big ears and his mouse friend. The same cannot be said about Tim Burton’s new live-action adaptation, however, and I recently had the chance to ask the film’s cast about one of the blockbuster’s key themes: the treatment of animals in entertainment.

Earlier this month I participated in the domestic press day for Dumbo in Los Angeles, and having the opportunity to sit down with Colin Farrell, Eva Green, and Danny DeVito, one subject that I brought up in every interview was one of the movie’s key messages. Each of them had a different perspective on the question, but also expressed a certain pride in how it comes across in Dumbo.

If the opportunities aren’t obvious, you might just not be familiar with the plot of the new film. Set in the wake of World War I, and primarily following a low-rent circus, Dumbo not only features all of the trauma of watching the titular elephant get forcibly separated from his mother, but also has a frank discussion about the exploitation of animals in entertainment. And not only is this something important to the plot of the film, but it’s also worth noting that the production itself made significant use of CGI animals instead of real ones (including for the creation of its eponymous character).

Not every animal in Dumbo is digitally added, as Colin Farrell’s character rides some very real horses in the movie. Interestingly, though, this led to some further consideration of their use in the movie by the actor, who definitely took the message of the movie to heart:

I've often questioned the use of horses and stuff, because at least a human being says, 'Yes, I want to be there,' and is getting paid for their services. Whereas a horse has no choice... I'd always be very adamant to make sure the horses, certainly anywhere close to me, aren’t mistreated in any way. And, and across the board, by in large, the horses have always, as far as I could see, have been treated wonderfully. But this film does make statements on the cruelty of the circus at that particular time, especially in relation to animals.

Playing aerialist Colette Marchant in the movie, who winds up performing an act with Dumbo, Eva Green had a lot of opportunity to do some non-animal acting in the film, and it seems that it wasn’t something that made the experience any more of a challenge. Even though working with a big green stuffed animal instead of a real creature meant using her imagination a bit more during production, being a part of a story like Dumbo and getting across its messaging was a point of pride for the actress. Green said,

We didn't have real elephants in, in this movie. We had wonderful CGI people who created some magic. I'm super proud to be in a Disney movie that promotes animal free circuses. Animals are not meant to live in captivity.

Dumbo, which also stars Michael Keaton, Alan Arkin, Nico Parker, and Finley Hobbins, arrives in theaters this Friday – and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interviews with the actors and filmmakers!

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Brahms: The Boy II’s Katie Holmes Admits She Gets Scared Filming Scary Movies

Brahms: The Boy II’s Katie Holmes Admits She Gets Scared Filming Scary Movies

Following 2017’s Logan Lucky, Katie Holmes is headed back to the big screen for STX Films’ upcoming movie Brahms: The Boy II. The actress plays the mother of a boy who befriends a doll he calls Brahms after moving into a creepy mansion. She’s no stranger to horror film work, but ahead of the release of this project, Katie Holmes admitted she gets scared filming scary movies.

In particular, Brahms: The Boy II was frightening at times. It was not because of the script or its creepy mansion setting, but because of the fact a doll plays a prominent role in the horror flick.

This was pretty terrifying to make when we were working with the doll. It was a lot. I was scared. I love dolls; I have a conflict because I have so many, growing up with a lot of baby dolls I never thought of a doll being creepy and now I have to rethink everything.

Brahms: The Boy II isn’t Katie Holmes’ first horror project by a long shot. She’s been in movies like Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, and Disturbing Behavior. However, some of these aren’t even straight horror flicks and it’s been a while since she dipped into the horror well.

She said she took on this role because it was a mom character and her child and how it “was such a universal fear for every parent” to want to protect their kid from danger and badness.

While filming the role, however, she said she got a little bit jumpy when asking whether or not she believes in supernatural forces. She said:

Well, when we were making this there were a couple of times I would be in my bed and start to fall asleep and like my pillow would fall, but I was like [creeped out].

When asked during the CinemaCon 2019 panel which horror movies influenced her most over the years, the actress cited a lot of classic films like The Shining, Rosemary’s Baby, Halloween, and Scream. So although she said it’s “hard” for her “to watch them,” she has at least seen some of the big horror movie moments of the past several decades.

Brahms: The Boy II is a sequel to the 2016 film The Boy, also produced by STX, which started its feature length career with another horror film, The Gift. This new iteration will return to the Heelshire Mansion to tell a brand new story. You’ll be able to see it for yourself on July 26, 2019 – the same week as Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

In the meantime, Katie Holmes better start preparing herself for the premiere now given the rough time she seems to have with scary moments, although, as long as no one hands her a doll at the premiere I assume she'll be fine.

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