Terminator: Dark Fate's Gabriel Luna Prepared By Staring Into The Mirror A Lot

Terminator: Dark Fate's Gabriel Luna Prepared By Staring Into The Mirror A Lot

“I’ll be back.” It’s the most famous line in the Terminator franchise and has proven prophetic once again, because the franchise is returning this year with Terminator: Dark Fate. The reboot-quel from director Tim Miller brings back Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 and Linda Hamilton’s iconic Sarah Connor. They return alongside a host of new faces, including Gabriel Luna, who plays the new Terminator in the film.

Details about the plot and Gabriel Luna’s Terminator are still relatively scarce, but the actor has spoken about what he’s bringing to the role and the interesting way he prepared. He said:

It's really hard to describe, because for me when I first got the part there was no script. So I spent a lot of time - more time than I should divulge - just standing in front of a mirror, just trying to develop the physical vocabulary of what he is, what's important. The head pitched forward in pursuit; the fluidity and the points of focus and all these things. And that's all I could work on, you know? So am sitting there, like, 'What is a Terminator to me?' and I'm breaking it down and building it up from the ground.

When Gabriel Luna landed the role of the new Terminator in Terminator: Dark Fate, there was no script for him to prepare with, but he didn’t just chill and wait for it. He got to work doing what he could by coming up with a take on how he would approach the character. As he told Comicbook.com, that meant just staring in the mirror for an uncomfortable amount of time to work out what that looked like.

It sounds strange and very ‘actor-y’ to hear about an actor just staring in a mirror for hours on end, doing different things with his face and head to work on his character, but it makes sense, especially in lieu of a script. Although a Terminator is a robot and generally unfeeling, an actor can’t just ‘do the robot’ and be good to go. There may not be emotion in the way there is for a human character but there is an intensity and purpose that must be present in the performance.

So Gabriel Luna had to suss out how he viewed Terminators and how he could physcially convey what he needed to convey. For him, that partially meant tilting his head forward, representing the dogged nature with which these hunter/killers pursue their targets. The ‘fluidity’ bit is also interesting and we know that Gabriel Luna’s Terminator will have the liquid properties and less mechanical movement of either a T-1000 or later model.

I also liked what he said about the points of focus. That’s something you’ve seen in previous performances by other Terminators; they aren’t taking in the scenery, they have tunnel vision-like focus, giving attention only to their target and the obstacles that stand in the way of that target.

No matter how weird his process might seem, it’s cool that Gabriel Luna is bringing such a dedication to this role to get the character right in what is hopefully a return to form for the franchise. He is presumably one of the main villains of this film, and he carries on the tradition of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800, Robert Patrick’s T-1000 and Kristanna Loken’s T-X (although Dark Fate is ignoring Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines).

Terminators are ultimately horror villains; unfeeling killers that are nearly impossible to escape. Gabriel Luna has already shown his abilities in this area as Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That character was more emotional than a Terminator, but definitely had that stalking intensity down. And with Gabriel Luna’s Terminator possessing the ability to duplicate himself, it will be quite the nightmare for Sarah Connor and Co.

Terminator: Dark Fate arrives in theaters on November 1. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of this year’s biggest movies, and keep it locked to CinemaBlend for all your movie news.

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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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