Why Star Wars: Episode IX Is Called The Rise Of Skywalker, According To JJ Abrams

Why Star Wars: Episode IX Is Called The Rise Of Skywalker, According To JJ Abrams

After years of speculation, the debate over what Star Wars: Episode IX would be called finally ended. At the end of the trailer that debuted at Star Wars Celebration earlier today, the official title was revealed: The Rise of Skywalker.

Given how important the Skywalker family has been to the Star Wars franchise and that this movie marks the end of the Skywalker Saga, Episode IX being called The Rise of Skywalker is rather fitting. Nevertheless, this has now prompted speculation about any specific meaning behind this title choice, and while director J.J. Abrams isn’t willing to delve into spoiler territory just yet, he did provide a broader, yet still fascinating explanation for why The Rise of Skywalker was selected, saying:

The title feels like it’s the right title for this movie, and I know that it’s provocative and asks a bunch of questions. But I think when you see the movie, you’ll see how it’s intended, what it means. But in the flow of titles, this movie had a very weird responsibility. It had to be the end of not just three movies, but nine movies, and the idea of having to incorporate the stories that have come before strangely is the story of the movie. Which is to say it’s the characters in the film inheriting everything that’s come before in previous generations, whether it’s sins of the father, whether it’s the wisdom that they’ve acquired. And the question is this new generation, are they up to the task, can they stand up to what they have to? And so in a way, I feel like we coming into this movie have inherited a lot, and the question is can we do it? And that question we ask ourselves every day.

J.J. Abrams delivered this response to ET Online after being asked who the Skywalker is that the title is referring to. The most obvious answer is it’s Luke, as Mark Hamill is reprising the character, but others have wondered if it’s Rey, thus retconning the reveal of her parentage in The Last Jedi, or perhaps even a title, with Force users being called Skywalkers instead of Jedi going forward. Alas, on this subject, Abrams kept quiet.

But speaking with regard to the entire Star Wars franchise, J.J. Abrams made some good points. Although the overall Star Wars film series is continuing with the trilogies respectively being worked on by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (not to mention the likes of The Mandalorian and more keeping things going on the small screen), The Rise of Skywalker is wrapping up an era that began over 40 years ago with A New Hope. It doesn’t have to just wrap up the narrative of this sequel trilogy, it also has to tie in the previous two trilogies.

So even though Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron and the rest of the main characters who have headlined this latest Star Wars trilogy will still be running the show, things and events from before their time will factor into The Rise of Skywalker’s story. That includes, as arguably the biggest Episode IX surprise from today, the return of Emperor Palpatine. His sinister laugh was heard at the end of the preview, and if Ian McDiarmid appearing on stage after the trailer screened at Star Wars Celebration wasn’t proof enough, it was confirmed later that the actor is indeed reprising the Sith Lord, though it remains to be seen if Darth Sidious has somehow returned to life or if we’ll be seeing him through flashbacks, holograms, as a Force ghost, etc.

As J.J. Abrams indicated, rather than Disney and Lucasfilm eventually revealing more clear-cut reasoning behind selecting The Rise of Skywalker as the title, it’s likely that’ll be an answer saved for the film itself, as was the case with The Last Jedi. Ideally Episode IX will do a satisfiable job of closing out this long era of Star Wars history, especially since this will be the last Star Wars movie we’ll see for a little bit. At the very least, it sounds like that sense of legacy will be properly felt.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters on December 20, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. Don’t forget to also look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out later this year.

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Watch Michelle Pfeiffer Go Full Catwoman By Cracking Her Batman Returns Whip

Watch Michelle Pfeiffer Go Full Catwoman By Cracking Her Batman Returns Whip

This weekend’s debut of Dumbo marked a fun collaboration between Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Tim Burton for the first time since 1992’s Batman Returns. The trio seriously missed out on an opportunity to include arguably most iconic element of their first united effort: Michelle Pfeiffer. The actress famously could crack a whip as Catwoman and apparently not much has changed 27 years later.

Maybe Michelle Pfeiffer was getting a bit nostalgic about her badass Batman Returns role in light of Tim Burton’s most recent movie? The actress took to her Instagram to show she still has Catwoman’s whip. Take a look:

She is Catwoman, hear her roar!! Anyone else geeking out right now? This is like the equivalent of Harrison Ford bringing out his Indiana Jones hat… or whip! It’s pretty amazing that Michelle Pfeiffer has Selina Kyle’s suave weapon-of-choice still in her possession. Though she did admit, it needed a little TLC… leading to this recent video:

Michelle Pfeiffer noted it’s “just like riding a bike” as she played around with her Catwoman whip with precision. Sarah Paulson echoed much of our sentiments as she loudly commented in all caps “MAKE ANOTHER CATWOMAN MOVIE PLEASE AND THANK YOU” after asking the actress if she could have the whip in Pfeiffer’s previous post. The 60-year-old icon clearly has still got it, and has shown her interest in reprising the role in the past. Here’s hoping DC and Tim Burton are paying attention.

Following the pop culture phenomenon Pfeiffer’s Catwoman became after Batman Returns, the character was set to have her own spinoff, though the movie written by John August (The Corpse Bride and Big Fish) didn’t get past the pitch stage. The sassy DC villain instead found her way to the big screen in 2004 with Halle Berry’s Catwoman, which is known as one of the most unfortunate pieces of comic adapted cinema to this day.

After Batman Returns, Michelle Pfeiffer was certainly a tough act to follow, considering her zany one-liners, seductive leather suit and cleverly both fun and dark portrayal of Selina Kyle. Check her out in her glory days in this scene of Batman Returns:

The actress did her own work with the whip during filming of Batman Returns and even cut down the heads of those mannequins in one take. With skills like that to whip out, Michelle Pfeiffer could have easily found a place within the circus world of Dumbo, perhaps as a villainous ringleader to team up with Michael Keaton’s Vandevere.

The actress has found a place in the Disney family recently as Janet van Dyne in the Ant-Man movies and as Queen Ingrith in the upcoming sequel to Maleficent coming this fall.

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Does Marvel's 5-Year Plan Include The X-Men? Here's What Kevin Feige Says

Does Marvel's 5-Year Plan Include The X-Men? Here's What Kevin Feige Says

One of the biggest things to come from the merger of Fox and Disney is that Marvel Studios now has the film rights to the X-Men. With the confirmation that the upcoming Dark Phoenix will be the final chapter of the existing X-Men universe, fans are looking forward to what appears to be the inevitable inclusion of the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, as things currently stand in the MCU, we may not be seeing the X-Men anytime soon. According to Marvel chief Kevin Feige, the current plan for the next five years of Marvel movies doesn't include the mutants. According to Feige...

It’ll be a while. It’s all just beginning and the five-year plan that we’ve been working on, we were working on before any of that was set. So really it’s much more, for us, less about specifics of when and where [the X-Men will appear] right now and more just the comfort factor and how nice it is that they’re home. That they’re all back. But it will be a very long time.

Kevin Feige tells i09 that Marvel had been working on plans for the next phase of the MCU long before the deal with Fox was made, and thus, those plans didn't include a place for the X-Men. Feige says that those plans haven't been significantly impacted by this addition, so it likely won't be until after the current plan is finished that new characters, like the X-Men, will be added.

On the one hand, this makes a lot of sense. While we don't have a lot of visibility to what Marvel has planned for its next phase, we can assume a lot of work has been done behind the scenes. A lot of that work would go out the window and need to be started over, all with a much shorter turn around time, if the X-Men were made an immediate concern.

While Marvel has yet to confirm anything officially after Spider-Man: Far From Home comes out this July, we do think we know what's coming. Movies about Black Widow, and The Eternals have been rumored. Sequels for Doctor Strange and Black Panther are expected, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is back on the schedule, though it will now be coming out later than previously scheduled.

And there's really no need to bring in the X-Men too soon. There are plenty of other characters that can be focused on in future films and the longer the X-Men are left alone, the easier it will be to bring them back in a new, rebooted, form.

At the same time, as i09 points out, Marvel pivoted pretty quickly once the studio made a deal with Sony to get Spider-Man into the MCU, so it wouldn't be the first time plans had changed because new opportunities had presented themselves. There's always the possibility that, even if there are no specific plans to bring in the X-Men right now, those plans could always change.

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To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Wonder Park Ticket

To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Wonder Park Ticket

The days are getting longer, the weather is getting nicer, and it's almost time for that age-old tradition of strapping oneself inside a metal roller coaster and defying gravity for fun! However, you might not have a local theme park open for the season, depending on where you hail from, so a movie like Wonder Park could be the thrill ride fix you need, mixed in with a family drama about the power of imagination. But, of course, there's something else we have to wonder about with this particular film. Yes, it's time to ask that beautiful question, “To 3D, or Not To 3D?”

If you're wondering what we thought about Wonder Park as a movie, head over to our official review for the full scoop. But if you're wondering whether the film is worth the extra ticket money, or if you'd be better off throwing that money towards a box of popcorn at your local theme park, you've come to the right place. Glasses on, as we're about to ride the 3D attraction that is Wonder Park.

Wonder Park, at its heart, is a film about a young girl's imagination, and the theme park it inspires. So that alone would be a pretty big treat in 3D, especially during the theme park sequences in the film. But Wonder Park isn't content with just showing off impressive attractions with 3D panache, as it takes both the real and imaginary worlds of its protagonist and does a pretty bang up job of finding something to surprise the eye with in both.

Looking at the finished product of Wonder Park's 3D conversion, it's a clear verdict in how much time and effort was put into the execution of this enhanced version of the film. The overall package is crisp and eye pleasing, with none of the defects that crop up in some lesser 3D presentations. While there's still some holding back with the film's visuals, it's not to the extent that the film suffers from it.

There are a couple of key shots in Wonder Park that show the perfect example of a self-imposed limitation when it comes to the 3D presentation. Those shots have objects like ice cream cones and other debris from the various adventures the film engages in hitting an invisible camera lens / glass wall and bouncing back into the picture. While those little touches are kinda fun, and definitely play with the visual fourth wall, they cause the film to stop short of any sort of thrills involving the objects in play flying out towards the audience.

While objects may not fly out of the screen, and into the audience's laps, Wonder Park does happen to boast some of the best depth in a 3D animated film. And that's besides the standard shots flying through roller coaster loops and the far off vistas of Wonderland being shown in fantastic depth and clarity. This film goes the extra mile, and includes impressive panning shots of crowds occupying the park that are so well drawn, you can feel each individual guest standing in front of you. It actually feels like a crowd shot, and not just a background effect, which is the ultimate cherry on top of this visual sundae.

There are a lot of beautiful colors and night shots at work in Wonder Park, which are both the types of aspects that get lost in a film with sub-par brightness. Now your mileage may vary when it comes to the brightness of your Wonder Park showing, as theaters maintain their projection rigs to varying degrees. That fact alone throws in a variable that can't always be accounted for. But in this screening of Wonder Park, there was only a slight dimming between putting the 3D glasses on and taking them off at various points in the film. The colors still look beautiful, and the night shots aren't a pain to look at.

Speaking of taking your glasses off, if you're tempted to remove your glasses during any point of Wonder Park, you'll see that classic blur that is a significant part of any good 3D film's visual language. The level of blur you experience in a movie such as this usually indicates how well the 3D effects are being manipulated in service of the thrills portrayed on screen. In the case of Wonder Park, there is a beautiful spectrum of blurred vision, from the extremely blurred backgrounds to the subtle blur of close up shots with characters and objects they're interacting with.

As with any good theme park, there's a lot of fast motion, with spirals, dips, and whipping around in the visuals of Wonder Park. But don't get intimidated by that, as it all flows smoothly, and with great precision. Rather than confuse your eyes, or your stomach, the 3D thrills in this film will not rattle either into a sense of discomfort. So if you decide to take this ride, you won't have to keep a waste bag or eye drops handy, as you'll be able to enjoy Wonder Park with no discomfort whatsoever.

Wonder Park is a stunning film to look at, with the 3D aspect making things only that much more interesting. If you're going to see this movie, you're getting the best return on your hard earned ticket money by seeing it with the added bells and whistles. There's extra wonder in Wonder Park's 3D conversion, and you owe it to yourself to experience every bit of it.

Be sure to visit our full To 3D Or Not To 3D Archive.

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Avengers: Endgame Has Officially Beat One Of Avatar's Box Office Records

Avengers: Endgame Has Officially Beat One Of Avatar's Box Office Records

Like Captain Marvel blazing through the sky and cutting through enemy ships, Avengers: Endgame came out fast and furious at the box office, felling many records. But Endgame’s run isn’t done yet and there are still records left to conquer, particularly those belonging to the almighty box office champ, Avatar. Now, after this past weekend, Avengers: Endgame has officially beat one of Avatar’s box office records.

Prior to this past weekend, it looked like the MCU’s massive culmination film would pass Avatar to become the second-biggest film at the domestic box office all-time. All the money has now been counted and we can finally say that officially, The Russo Brothers’ latest film has done just that. According to Box Office Mojo, Avengers: Endgame now stands at $774.5 million on the domestic charts, surpassing Avatar’s $760.5 million.

It’s a remarkable feat considering that Avatar’s domestic record held all the way until 2015 when it was beat out by the return of Star Wars in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No film since then has passed Avatar domestically, including box office titans like Black Panther, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Avengers: Infinity War. But records are made to be broken and Avengers: Endgame has done that in less than a month.

The $774.5 million and counting Avengers: Endgame has made cements it as the second-biggest domestic film ever, now trailing only The Force Awakens. It may have to settle for No. 2 though because the record held by Episode VII will require extraordinary legs to catch. Star Wars: The Force Awakens holds the top spot on the domestic charts with a historic $936.6 million, over $160 million more than where Endgame is currently at.

On the worldwide record front, things are more competitive and interesting. Avengers: Endgame may have passed Avatar’s domestic total and James Cameron’s other box office champ Titanic worldwide, but Avatar’s all-time, worldwide box office record remains intact.

Avatar is the No. 1, biggest movie ever at the box office, with $2.788 million worldwide. Right now, Avengers: Endgame sits at $2.620 million worldwide. Like the domestic record, Endgame will have to make over $160 million more around the world to catch Avatar and stand alone atop the worldwide box office chart.

Whether it can do that remains to be seen, but we may be in for a photo finish with box office aficionados watching Endgame’s every dollar come in like political pundits on election night. As of now, Avengers: Endgame has won a battle against Avatar, but the war is undecided and James Cameron still sits upon the throne.

Avengers: Endgame is now playing while Avatar 2 has been delayed (again) until 2021. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see all the movies you can look forward to the rest of this year.

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Toy Story 4 Is Going To Have More Easter Eggs Than You Can Count

Toy Story 4 Is Going To Have More Easter Eggs Than You Can Count

If you're a serious Pixar fan, then you probably enjoy hunting for classic Pixar easter eggs. From the Pizza Planet truck to the Luxo Ball, there are always little hidden nods to the history and future of Pixar in every feature film the company produces, but Toy Story 4 is going to put them all to shame, as the movie may very well have more easter eggs hidden inside it than it is possible to count.

Last month i had a chance to visit Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California. While there i had a chance to take a pretty deep dive into the production of Toy Story 4 including the new locations the story will visit. One of those locations, as viewed in the trailer, is an antiques mall where Woody sees that Bo Peep has ended up, and where we meet the film's villain, the doll Gabby Gabby.

I spoke with Pixar Sets Supervisor Thomas Jordan and Sets Technical Director Rosie Cole about the work they did creating the mall, and they reveled how much work they did creating all the references. According to Jordan...

In the antique mall in particular there's so many objects that are just beyond the view of the characters and there's lots of fun things, especially easter eggs and homages to other Pixar films and jokes that you would get if you watched all of our movies.

The antiques mall is just full of objects. It's packed to the ceiling with stuff. However, it's not just any stuff. As the animation team responsible for creating the environment revealed, a lot of the objects that have placed around the characters are actually easter eggs referencing all sorts of other Pixar films.

Among the easter eggs to look out for in the Toy Story 4 antique store:

Elastigirl's Elasticycle from Incredibles 2 can be seen as a toy

A scream canister from Monsters Inc is partially visible

A pinball machine that uses the Maori statues from the aquarium from Finding Nemo

A record of "Remember Me" from Coco playing on a gramophone

Not every easter egg in Toy Story 4 can be found in the antique store however. The other major location seen in the Toy Story 4 trailer is a carnival, and and Thomas Jordan let me know about one very fitting Pixar easter egg that will be visible there.

The balloon cart from Up, because Carl was a balloon salesman. His balloon cart, complete with the balloons are in the carnival.

Several Pixar easter eggs are seen in all, or nearly all, of the studio's films. The Luxo Ball, the yellow ball with the red star on it, that was screen in Pixar's first short Luxo Jr. Can be seen as a sticker on the toy rockers in the image above from the trailer. The Pizza Planet truck, which made its debut in the original Toy Story will appear in Toy Story 4 as well, though Thomas Jordan told me in won't appear in a way that viewers might expect.

The Pizza Planet truck is in the movie, but it’s seen in a very unusual way. I think the audience will see it, and I think they will be surprised.

Another Pixar tradition is placing an easter egg for Pixar's next film in the current one. That means that we'll see a reference to Pixar's Onward at some point. I asked for a hint as to where we'll be able to see it. The only thing I was told was where it won't be found.

We can tell you it is not in the antiques mall.

Of course, since very little of Onward has been shown to the public, there's a decent chance we won't even know what the easter egg was until after we see the movie in 2020.

I asked the team how many easter eggs that they'd created might not even be visible in Toy Story 4 because they'd been covered by other objects, potentially other easter eggs, and they admitted that might very well be the case. It seems that to see every reference that the new film has to offer, it will either require multiple viewings in the theater, or more likely, a frame by frame analysis once Toy Story 4 comes out on Blu-ray.

Toy Story 4 arrives in theaters June 21.

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All The Reasons Why Black Widow Absolutely Deserves Her Own Movie

All The Reasons Why Black Widow Absolutely Deserves Her Own Movie

As development on Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow movie continues to inch forward, some MCU fans may be wondering why it's even a thing. Of the Avengers who still have yet to get their own standalone movie, why is Black Widow at the top of the minds of so many people? She doesn't even have superpowers, and it's not like Avengers: Endgame set the stage for some big feature on her end. There was once a time a solo movie would've been perfect for the character, but has that time passed?

The answer, in short, is absolutely not. There's plenty that's been written on this topic already, but as more details on the Black Widow movie have come to light, it's high time for us to talk about all the reasons Black Widow absolutely deserves her own movie, starting with why the character is so fabulous.

Black Widow Is Lowkey The Greatest Hero In Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame is jam-packed with big moments for its heroes, which makes it really easy to forget why they all came together in the first place. While Tony was pouting and Cap was attending support groups, Natasha stepped up as the leader of The Avengers and did all she could to continue to keep tabs on all the world's heroes and ensure those left behind were still safe from tyranny.

Plus, let's not forget that her massive sacrifice that gave the Avengers a shot at defeating Thanos and bringing everyone back from the dead. It was all the more noble, considering she forced Clint Barton to live so he could be with his family, and gave her life knowing there's a solid chance she may never know whether or not the mission succeeded or failed.

She Can Hold Her Own Alongside Almost Any Hero

Black Widow is one of the only Avengers who lacks super powers or special gear, and yet she's always in the thick of it with everyone else. She's firing shots, doing cartwheels, and taking down bad guys all with a minimal armor and little fear. She's been the ultimate sidekick to accompany any hero in the MCU, so why can't she take the lead for once?

After all, a Black Widow movie doesn't have to be devoid of other Marvel heroes. Natasha could pair up with just about anyone, and somehow still find a way to make herself useful even amongst the strongest of allies. Personally, I think it would be great to see a Black Widow movie where she and old-school Hulk teamed up on some S.H.I.E.L.D. mission, although given the big gap in Hulk's time on Earth that may not be a realistic dream. But there are plenty of routes to go in.

Black Widow's A Hero, But Also Stone Cold When Necessary

While they typically tend to stray on the side of what's right and protects the innocent, the MCU's superheroes have a bit of grey area when it comes to taking down enemies that threaten the things they love. Like, are we really supposed to believe that when Thor slams down in the middle of those enemies every single one of them was conveniently knocked unconscious and just never got back up?

Let's also remember that Natasha was a straight-up assassin, and while she's not necessarily the high-profile killer she once was, she's more or less shown to have little remorse or second thoughts in bringing down a target if things come down to it. This makes a Black Widow movie a potentially darker affair than it would be for other core members of the Avengers, which makes the prospect of one all the more exciting.

There Are Parts Of Black Widow's Past That Are Still Unexplored

We've seen glimpses of Black Widow's past in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but beyond that, there are huge gaps in her history that are unexplored. We don't know the full story behind her road to S.H.I.E.L.D., what she did when she was apart from The Avengers, and next to nothing about what happened in Budapest. Could a Black Widow movie with Scarlett Johansson front and center provide any of those answers?

It's possible, although there's a rumor floating around Twitter that Sebastian Stan mentioned the upcoming Black Widow movie takes place after Captain America: Civil War. If that's true, it will be an interesting time as the movie showed her to be one of the heroes torn between Tony Stark and Steve Rodgers. A film like this isn't exactly what audiences may be expecting, but arguably better than an origin story where we see her do some horrible things.

There's Still A Chance Black Widow May Return To The MCU

Now, it was said in Avengers: Endgame that Black Widow couldn't come back, but there's no denying the movie also proved that's not the case. After all, Gamora was originally sacrificed for the Soul Stone, but had a past version of herself pulled into the present. It stands to reason the MCU could pull something similar with Black Widow, and have zero impact on the timeline in doing so.

So while the MCU ponders whether or not it will bring back Natasha Romanoff, a Black Widow movie would be a good measuring stick to see how big of a priority it is for fans to see her again. Expanding out her mythology, and perhaps giving her a grounded background to thrive in would give her somewhere to go other than ensemble films if she returns, which may not be as feasible with the MCU geared to go more cosmic.

Fans Still Haven't Seen How Natasha Became Black Widow

Now, it's more than fair to say superhero movie fans are growing increasingly tired of origin movies, but it's certainly worth considering in the case of Natasha Romanoff. Her origin is fairly darker than most other Marvel heroes, which would make the tale of her journey from KGB assassin to S.H.I.E.L.D. operative a bit more interesting than the average origin story in the realm of superhero content.

Now that she's become a vital part of MCU lore, it's time we put some respect on Black Widow's name and honor her with a true standalone movie. Especially since Scarlett Johansson has been the trooper and showed up in most of the Marvel ensemble films in a supporting role. It's about high time she gets to sit in the driver's seat and show MCU fans why she's not to be overlooked.

Related: Scarlett Johansson Might Make More Money For The Black Widow Movie Than We Thought

As far as when the world may get to see Scarlett Johansson star in a Black Widow movie, we're still in the dark, although rumors have stated production is slated to start in June or it's possibly already underway. Stick with CinemaBlend for more updates on that, and for more on the latest in movies, television, and pop culture.

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