X-Men: Days Of Future Past Almost Featured Cable

X-Men: Days Of Future Past Almost Featured Cable

2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past was an especially interesting entry in the X-Men film series, as not only did it continue the storyline that began with X-Men: First Class by jumping to 1973, it also reunited with many of the original X-Men cast members as they struggled for survival in a dystopian 2023. This group of heroic mutants was accompanied by some new faces, and originally Nathan Summers, better known as Cable, was supposed to be one of those faces.

Given how Cable is best known for growing up in a future, apocalyptic timeline and time traveling to the present day Marvel universe, it would have been fitting to have him involved in X-Men: Days of Future Past, even if unlike his comic book counterpart, he wasn’t the one traveling backwards in time. As for why he didn’t appear in the fifth main X-Men installment, it turns out that Cable’s co-creator, Rob Liefeld, pushed for him being taken out, providing the following explanation for why:

He was originally in Days of Future Past in the Bishop role and he got killed. And then there was a note that came back that said he's kind of too big of a character to do this with, and poor Bishop got slaughtered instead. But I swear to you... So, summer 2012, I was like, you can't, you can't have Cable. Like, as much as I want to see him, fans will freaking go nuts if they see him and you kill him immediately. He's too big.

Considering Cable’s decades of popularity, I can’t say I blame Rob Liefeld for wanting the character to sit out X-Men: Days of Future Past. Sure, audiences finally would have been introduced to him on the big screen, but their time with him would have been short, as Cable would have been among the mutants killed by the Sentinels in that dystopian future, like Sunspot, Blink and Warpath. There wouldn’t have been any time to properly develop the character, and someone like that needs a bigger platform to shine on.

Instead, as Rob Liefeld told ScreenRant and as audiences saw in the final version of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Cable was replaced by Bishop, another mutant with a history of time travel. On the one hand, Cable is arguably more popular than Bishop, so it makes sense that the latter would take priority over the former. On the other hand, Bishop also has his fair share of fans and his own interesting story that stretches across several time periods, and Days of Future Past did not delve into that at all since he was such a minor character.

So the tradeoff might not have appealed to all X-Men fans, but had Cable stayed in X-Men: Days of Future Past, like Bishop, he would have been killed off, with no time dedicated to fleshing out his backstory. Ultimately, this replacement was probably the right call, but hopefully if/when the X-Men are incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there will be an opportunity to spotlight Bishop in a fitting way.

Fortunately for Cable fans, they only had to wait four more years after X-Men: Days of Future Past to see him finally make his live action debut. After being teased at the end of Deadpool, Cable, played by Josh Brolin, finally joined the fray in Deadpool 2. Like his comic book counterpart, he hailed from an apocalyptic future, but his reason for going back in time in this movie was to kill Russell Collins, a.k.a. Firefist, the mutant who murdered his wife and daughter, as a child.

Cable didn’t succeed in carrying out his assassination, but the adolescent Russell decided to step off the villainous path he’s heading down, thus saving Cable’s wife and daughter in the future. Sadly, the cybernetic mutant was unable to return to his family, but he’s now working to improve the present so they have a better future awaiting them.

Although Disney, which recently finalized the Fox merger, plans on keeping the Deadpool franchise going, it remains to be seen if Cable will return in either X-Force or Deadpool 3, let alone if Josh Brolin will reprise him or if someone else will take over the role. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates either way. In the meantime, feel free to keep up to date with what’s heading to theaters later this year in our 2019 release schedule.

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Stephen King Drops F-Bomb Over How Great Pet Sematary Is

Stephen King Drops F-Bomb Over How Great Pet Sematary Is

Stephen King is never shy with his opinions. Just ask The Shining. But the good news is he thinks the new Pet Sematary movie is "fucking great!" This is the second movie to adapt his 1983 horror novel, following the 1989 film.

Critics have already seen the 2019 Pet Sematary and the reactions have been very positive. King seems to agree, particularly appreciating the maturity of the film:

It’s fucking great! It’s a really good movie. It’s a grown-up, adult kind of movie. It’s not like 12 semi-clad teens get killed in a summer camp. In this particular time frame, you know, there’ve been several movies that have been successful. Horror movies like Jordan Peele’s Get Out last year. And then I think when Us opens, I think it’s gonna be big. I think it’s gonna be huge. Those are like adult-type fantasies.

Stephen King must've shared those quotes a while before EW posted them, since by now Us has come out and it was indeed big -- with a bigger-than-expected opening. Horror is huge right now. Pet Sematary isn't expected to have a huge box office opening opposite Shazam! but it should pull in respectable numbers. The strong word-of-mouth can't hurt.

Stephen King also reiterated he's OK with the 2019 Pet Sematary changing one aspect of the film -- which was already revealed in the trailer so it's not really a spoiler -- that the older girl is resurrected this time and not the little boy.

It’s something different. They did a good job. Boy, I saw all the stuff that came online when people realized that it was Ellie rather than Gage that got run over in the road, and I’m thinking like, “Man, these people…” It’s so nuts. You can take Route 301 and go to Tampa, or you could take Route 17 and go to Tampa. But both times, you’re gonna come out at Tampa! [Laughs] You know what I’m saying? It didn’t change anything for me. I thought, “Okay, I understand why they did it, because it’s maybe easier to work with a zombie when she’s a little girl, [rather] than a toddler.”

Stephen King said, in general, he's fine with stories changing details -- if, in his opinion, it works for the story:

I’m really kind of mercenary about all this. My idea is, “If it works, it’s golden. If it doesn’t work, you know, Jesus Christ, why did you change it?” I mean, I’ve seen changes in stuff that’s been done to my work where I just throw up my hands and I say, “Why? Why did you do that? You had a book. You had a blueprint you could’ve gone by.”

It's true. There are good Stephen King adaptations, bad Stephen King adaptations, and a whole lot in between with a mix of both in the same project.

Read the whole Q&A for a lot more from Stephen King. Pet Sematary opens this coming Friday, April 5. And don't forget we also have It Chapter 2, Doctor Sleep, Castle Rock Season 2, The Stand, and more King adaptations still to come. He never stops!

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Olivia Wilde Says Focus On Her Looks In Hollywood ‘Grosses’ Her Out

Olivia Wilde Says Focus On Her Looks In Hollywood ‘Grosses’ Her Out

Olivia Wilde has been in the acting business for quite some time, but she’ll actually be stepping behind the camera for her next big screen venture Booksmart. In a recent interview, Olivia Wilde talked about how she’s been feeling icky while doing press for the gig, although it has nothing to do with directing itself and everything to do with how Hollywood has perceived her up until this point. She said:

It is remarkable that I am 35 years old and this is the first job I’ve ever had that wasn’t entirely dependent on and connected to my looks. It grosses me out to acknowledge it, but I’ve been thinking a lot about it.

If you look at Olivia Wilde’s resume prior to her directorial work in Booksmart, it includes such projects as Tron, Her, Cowboys & Aliens and other movies that pushed her into more romantic and sometimes even nude roles. Even in HBO’s recent series Vinyl, she played a model and the wife of Richie, again noted for her good looks.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being good-looking, but for a long time in the actress’ career she really believed her job as an actress was to be “everyone’s version of a perfect woman.” Of course, life -- and work -- is a whole lot messier than that.

During the same interview with the New York Times, Wilde also mentioned feeling exploited in meetings, noting,

Have I ever felt exploited? Yeah. Do I realize that I’d become numb to that? Yes. I had become numb to the fact that every meeting I went on — with men and women, by the way — I was going to be judged on my physical appearance. Because that’s what actors deal with, and man, it’s exhausting.

Now the actress is growing older, she believes the parts she is being offered are more sophisticated and getting to work behind the camera has seemingly been more rewarding than playing a part in someone else’s story. Olivia Wilde went on to reflect that "it only gets more interesting when you get too old to play dumb."

Although she says she doesn’t regret roles like her gig on The O.C., which really helped to jumpstart her career, Booksmart is Olivia Wilde’s story. The movie has already earned some praise for its coming-of-age subject matter (and shout out to somebody finally putting Kaitlyn Dever in the spotlight), but if you ask Olivia Wilde, she’s simply proud of how Booksmart helped push her past the “superficiality” of her earlier work and into something more fulfilling:

I was there only because of my brain and my heart. And the sense of fulfillment that comes from that is really massive. It’s a profound shift for me.

We’ll have to see how Booksmart fares in the fickle world of moviegoing, but with any luck we’ll continue seeing more from Olivia Wilde both behind and in front of the camera. In the meantime, Booksmart opens on May 24, 2019. Take a look at other upcoming releases with our full movies schedule.

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6 Questions We Have After Watching Shazam!

6 Questions We Have After Watching Shazam!

Shazam! is officially out, and while those who have seen it now know a whole lot about DC's latest superhero adventure, they may have some questions after the film. That's understandable given there are quite a few crazy things that happen throughout the flick, many of which could be addressed in a sequel or another DC film down the line. In no particular order, here are some of the thoughts I had after the credits rolled that have stuck with me as the days have passed. Take a look.

Can The Rest Of The Kids Change On Command?

Billy can switch between his normal and champion self simply by saying "shazam," but is that the case with his foster siblings? We see the rest of the Shazam Family go hero mode in the final scenes of the film, but the circumstances of how their powers work are a bit confusing. Can they change on command like Billy, or do their powers rely on using the staff?

It's a question the movie didn't really get a chance to answer, but one I'd like to know more about. The comics have allowed the kids to change by saying "shazam" as well, but audiences only saw the children change when holding the staff with Billy. It would be nice to have some clarity on how this whole thing works in a future movie and whether or not it is similar to the comics.

Are The Powers Of The Shazam Family The Same?

As I alluded to in the previous question, the Shazam Family is similar to the characters shown in the comics, although I'm not entirely sure if the characters will be portrayed quite like their comic book counterparts. For example, Darla has the enhanced super speed like in the comics, and it seemed remarkably clear she was a good deal faster than the rest of the siblings.

Then there's Pedro who was strong enough to stop a ferris wheel, and is supposed to be the strongest of the Shazam Family. No offense to Pedro, but that didn't seem like something Billy couldn't do, especially when Shazam is typically portrayed to have a level of strength akin to Superman. Also, Eugene is supposed to have the power to control technology, although seemed to just be a lightning expert. Hopefully another movie makes their skill-sets a bit clearer.

Is Shazam! Connected To The Justice League?

Shazam's final scene before the credits has a pretty spectacular cameo, but does the Man of Steel's brief appearance confirm Billy will get an adventure with another Justice League hero in the future? It's hard to say, as we're all well aware DC isn't too keen on a shared universe for its hero films right now. Also, Henry Cavill didn't even actually appear for the cameo, lending credence to those Henry Cavill rumors.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see Billy team up with another DC hero, although the introduction of the Shazam Family really makes this a franchise that can do ensemble films more organically on its own. Plus, I can't imagine DC would want to lug the whole family around for adventures, so any appearance by Billy would have to justify or possibly explain where the rest of the family is. That doesn't seem ideal.

What's Next For Doctor Sivana?

Shazam!'s villain Doctor Sivana started off strong, but was stripped of the demons within him and a bulk of the powers that made him a viable threat to Billy. The post-credits scene showed it's likely not the last we've seen of the villain, and that he'll likely team up with Mr. Mind for more evil plots. That's all well and good, but what use is Sivana without the power of the demons?

That's for a future film to answer, although we know that Sivana is still a highly intelligent individual even without powers. He also knows some of the mysterious spell language, which in the comics, keeps him from ever being held in any prison for too long. The character will probably see his freedom, but after that what other use does Mr. Mind have for Dr. Sivana? Will he reclaim the Eye of Sin and go for Round 2 against Billy?

Will Billy's Father Appear?

In one of Shazam's saddest scenes, Billy's mother makes it known in so many words that her prolonged absence in his life was intentional. We also learned that Billy's father is alive and in prison, although he never expressed a desire to be a father. Was that a way of saying he'd never appear, or was the mention the start of what could be a wildly different take on William Batson?

It's impossible to say, of course, although it is worth mentioning that Billy's family dynamic was one of the biggest changes in Shazam! Seeing William Batson come back into Billy's life would create some interesting tension, and another way to showcase Billy's difficult feelings in processing all of that. Or, the film could introduce William as a villain which, again, is great fodder for a wild story arc that could have a huge emotional pay off.

When Will Black Adam Appear?

Shazam! has a brief mention of Black Adam, which more or less sets the stage for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's anti-hero to appear down the stretch. Now the question is, will we ever see Black Adam appear as a foe to Billy Batson? The fact that he wasn't featured in either post-credit scene doesn't seem like there are immediate plans to use him, despite him originally being in the mix to appear.

With that said, Dwayne Johnson has revived many fans' hopes for a standalone film with an announcement on Instagram that filming on Black Adam's solo film could start as early as next year. That probably means a film that features both characters won't come until after that, although that's not always the case. Still, if DC does still intend to make Black Adam, it might be best to tell his story there before bringing him into the Shazam! franchise proper.

Shazam! is currently in theaters, and CinemaBlend is the place to be for any viewer who wants all the answers and analysis following the superhero film. For more content like that, be sure to check out how the film did at the box office during its opening weekend. (Spoiler alert: It did well.)

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Captain Marvel's Directors Have A Deleted Scene They Wish Made The Theatrical Cut

Captain Marvel's Directors Have A Deleted Scene They Wish Made The Theatrical Cut

Warning: SPOILERS for Captain Marvel ahead!

Audiences will soon get to relive one of the biggest movies of the year when Captain Marvel arrives on home video. One of the most exciting parts of any home video release is getting to see some of the stuff that didn’t make it into the final film. Speaking with CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg in advance of Captain Marvel’s Blu-ray release, directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck revealed the one scene they wish had made the theatrical cut, saying:

Anna Boden: I think the scene where Jude visits his Supreme Intelligence is really fun - I think it's on the deleted scenes - and it's just one of those delicious after scenes where Jude Law is playing both characters and being both brutal and vulnerable in the same space.

Ryan Fleck: Yon-Rogg, of course he's himself when he visits the Supreme Intelligence.

Anna Boden: Because you see the person who you admire the most, right?

In the theatrical cut of Captain Marvel, we never get to see Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg visit the Kree Supreme Intelligence, nor do we know for sure what form the Supreme Intelligence takes for him. But it turns out that such a scene was filmed, and in the deleted scene, Yon-Rogg visits the Kree Supreme Intelligence, which takes the form of…Yon-Rogg.

The Supreme Intelligence takes the form of whomever you most admire, so for Vers that’s Dr. Wendy Lawson/Mar-Vell, even though she doesn’t remember who that is or why she admires her. But for the villainous Yon-Rogg, the person he most admires is himself. This underscores what a narcissist Yon-Rogg really is, that he can’t think of anyone more aspirational and perfect than himself.

This is fun to hear because who Yon-Rogg sees when he visits the Supreme Intelligence is actually brought up in the film. In the beginning of the movie, Brie Larson’s Vers asks him whom he sees and he refuses to tell her. That the answer is himself makes it clear why.

Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck like this scene especially because it gives Jude Law the fun opportunity to play both himself and the Supreme Intelligence. Fortunately, it will be one of the deleted scenes on the Blu-ray release of Captain Marvel, so fans will get to see it. The scene is called “Who Do You Admire Above All Others?” and it sees the Supreme Intelligence questioning Yon-Rogg’s leadership ability.

As Anna Boden said, that allowed for Jude Law to play the unforgiving Supreme Intelligence demanding results from Yon-Rogg, and the ever-confident Yon-Rogg showing actual vulnerability in the face of the highest authority. Although it’s not in the film, if we take this scene as canon, it not only gives us greater understanding of Jude Law’s character, it also adds something to the end of the movie.

The Supreme Intelligence already doubted Yon-Rogg and he was eager to please it. That makes the end where Carol Danvers defeats him and sends him back to Hala alive with a warning for the Supreme Intelligence all the more devastating for Yon-Rogg, a failure that was likely worse than death for the devout soldier.

While this scene sounds cool and likely works on a couple of different levels, you can see why it may have been cut. If we had seen Yon-Rogg meeting the Supreme Intelligence, it would have given away the game as to what kind of person he really is. Sure, I think his evil turn was pretty predictable, but this would have blasted away any bit of uncertainty. Still, it would have been cool to see a scene after he got sent back to Hala, pleading to an angry Supreme Intelligence.

Captain Marvel is now on digital and arrives on Blu-ray on June 11. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of this year’s biggest movies.

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What The Tolkien Cast Found Hard About Researching Their Characters

What The Tolkien Cast Found Hard About Researching Their Characters

When playing a real life figure like J.R.R. Tolkien, or his wife Edith Bratt, it takes a lot of research to make sure you’re doing your job well. It’s something that both Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins faced when preparing to star in director Dome Karukoski’s Tolkien, a biopic on the life experiences that lead the titular author to start writing the Middle-Earth franchise.

But when trying into character, both Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins found that there was a fair degree of difficulty and liberation when it came to portraying the couple that would eventually fall in love and get married during the events shown in Tolkien. And a lot of those difficulties came from the fact that the younger incarnations that they were inhabiting aren’t exactly captured in a lot of media that they can base their portrayals off of.

When CinemaBlend spoke with both Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins during the press day for Tolkien, the question of the hardest challenges when honing their characters came up. And in the case of Hoult, the actor had the following feedback to provide when it came to his own research efforts:

There was lots of fun little things, like that him and Edith [Bratt], his long time love, would throw sugar cubes in people's hats when they went for tea. And then he stole a bus, he was arrested for stealing a bus when he was younger at Oxford. But I just didn't know anything about the man behind the legend, so it was a steep learning curve. I was mispronouncing his name, to be honest with you. I was saying "Toll-kin," and I quickly realized that was the wrong pronunciation. I had to say "Toll-keen." And yeah, it's learning about those relationships that kind of gave him the safe environment to create, and it inspired him to then tell the stories he did.

The lack of footage for both J.R.R. Tolkien and Edith Bratt’s younger selves is something that certain actors might see as stifling for their own creative process. After all, you don’t want to go into a film like Tolkien and totally botch the characterization of the man who wrote The Lord of the Rings, or his beloved wife for that matter.

But as folks who see the movie will find, both actors are up to the task of portraying very humanized versions of Tolkien and Bratt, as they tell the story of their meeting, and eventually their falling in love. Without proper characters, this wouldn’t work in a fictitious narrative, but in the case of Tolkien, you have to believe that the love between Ronald and Edith is so strong, he’d create epic romances and ravishing Elvish beauties in the name of that love.

To that respect, Lily Collins saw the challenge of portraying Edith as a similar learning opportunity to that of her Tolkien co-star, as she provided the following answer to that same question:

For me it was a little different, because there’s no real footage of [Edith.] There’s not many photos, so it’s not like people can really compare what they know to be true of her, and then me. But I think, in general, when you are playing someone who has a public persona that people already know of, mannerisms, making sure that innately you seem to have understood their aura, and kind of just the character in general of how they acted. When you can directly compare it to video footage or photos, it’s always going to be difficult, because people have a preconceived idea walking in.

While Nicholas Hoult had footage of J.R.R. Tolkien’s interviews from later on in life to go off of, Lily Collins didn’t have anything of the sort when it came to her portrayal of Edith. While it’s certainly an added level of challenge, at the same time, Collins admits that so long as her performance landed in a zone of approximation that matched what was written about Edith Bratt, she was free to move her performance in any direction that suited the sort of aura surrounding Edith’s character.

You can see Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins explain this for themselves, in the video below from our sit-down during the Tolkien junket day:

Very rarely can any actor capture the complete essence of the person they’re playing in a biopic. But in the case of Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins, their portrayals of J.R.R. Tolkien and his wife are so well drawn, you can believe their story is not only true, but worthy of a happy ending.

The life story of Tolkien and his ultimate creation of Middle-Earth make for good movie watching, and audiences can see it for themselves as they see Tolkien in theaters, starting with early shows this evening. If you’re interested in further coverage on the film’s release, stay tuned to CinemaBlend as the week progresses.

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Looks Like The Flash's Costume In Cancelled Justice League Mortal Would Have Been Wild

Looks Like The Flash's Costume In Cancelled Justice League Mortal Would Have Been Wild

It's no secret that superhero movies are everywhere. Comic book adaptations have proven to be the most profitable and popular genre in filmmaking, so there are plenty of studios trying to get in on the fun with their own cinematic universe. But there was a time when this wasn't the case, and back in 2007 DC tried to get together the ill-fated blockbuster Justice League Mortal, directed by Mad Max's George Miller.

Details about Justice League Mortal have slowly trickled out throughout the years, including which characters would have factored into the ensemble project. The cast would have featured The O.C.'s Adam Brody as The Flash, but it also appears that the late Anton Yelchin may have been another name floated around. A concept art just hit the internet, reportedly made for Yelchin's verison of the speedster. Check it out below.

Talk about a different look. It looks like George Miller's plans for Justice League Mortal would have been even more void of color than Zack Snyder's trilogy of DC movies. While Snyder often prefers muted tones, the above art for The Flash's costume is totally grey. You can barely even call the character the Scarlet Speedster, considering how void of the color red he is.

This new image comes to us from Instagram, and mentions Anton Yelchin as the actor it was made for. This might be surprising for moviegoers who are familiar with the ill-fated development for Justice League Mortal. A full cast was assembled (and photographed!), with Yelchin not part of the group. Instead, The Flash was going to be played by Adam Brody, who was having some success in the world of TV acting.

Anton Yelchin was also younger than Adam Brody, making the reports of his involvement all the more suspect. Yelchin would have only been about 18 years old in 2007, and didn't have the following he did later in life. As such, it seems more likely that George Miller would have chosen an older and arguably more famous actor to play the Scarlet Speedster.

Regardless of which actor was going to inhabit the role, the possible costume for The Flash in Justice League Mortal would have thrown hardcore comic book fans for a loop. The Flash almost always has a bright red suit, leaving a trail of red behind him when running at superheroic speeds. This look is void of color, possibly teasing a dark incarnation of the character than Ezra Miller eventually played in Justice League. Of course, that might be changing soon.

Ezra Miller's Flash solo movie has been sitting in development hell from years, suffering multiple set backs and losing quite a few directors along the way. The latest report indicates Miller is trying to help the writing process, and make the film darker in tone. Could he also end up with a grey suit? We'll just have to wait and see.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things DC and Flash, as details become public. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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