How Star Wars’ Creature Team Ended Up With Chewbacca’s New Movie Look

How Star Wars’ Creature Team Ended Up With Chewbacca’s New Movie Look

Bringing any Star Wars creature to life on the big screen is a bit of a challenge, but you might think that bringing back legacy characters such as Chewbacca might be a little bit easier thanks to their already being previous work to work off of.

You’d be wrong.

Speaking at Star Wars Celebration, creature designer Neal Scanlan discussed the myriad challenges to bringing Chewbacca back for Disney and Lucasfilm’s new series of Star Wars movies. The way the team ended up with Chewbacca’s new movie look took ideas, plenty of perseverance, and honestly, a whole lot of luck. But don’t take it from me. Here’s what Neal Scanlan revealed.

Finding The Actor

First and foremost, finding an actor who could play Chewbacca was incredibly difficult. You need someone who can embody the character, but also someone who is 7 feet tall to take on the role. There are definitely more 7-foot basketball players out there than working actors. Or, as Scanlan put it, perhaps George Lucas got really lucky when he found Peter Mayhew:

So the first thing about Chewie that we realized was that if you were George Lucas and you created this character called Chewbacca, what you really want is for someone to walk through your door who’s 7 foot plus, has incredibly wideset, beautiful eyes and a very strong jawline. How lucky was that for George when Peter Mayhew walked through the door?

Obviously, Joonas Suotamo (who is allegedly 6’ 11”) was signed on for the role and that particular problem was worked out for the design team. However, there was a bigger issue at the heart of creating Chewbacca—they didn’t have any of the original plans or molds for the character.

Designing Chewbacca’s Look

Neal Scanlan said at Star Wars Celebration 2019 that he and his team were confident they could get Chewbacca’s look close to that of the original trilogy movies, which came out between 1977 and 1983. However, he and his team quickly found out the process was “hopeless” and they were never going to get a fully accurate look for the character.

Then, the team got really lucky. Per Neal Scanlan:

Then almost at the point where we just tried to give up, I had a sculptures working. We were trying to reverse engineer: What does Chewie look like underneath? A colleague of mine walked in, he said, ‘I have something for you.’ I thought he’d probably brought me a can of beer or something. He said, ‘I have an original cast of Chewbacca’s head.’ I was like, ‘You’re kidding me!’ He was like, ‘No, I did a little bit of work experience with Stuart Freeborn and he gave me a cast of Chewie’s head.

So, they went from having a lot of trouble trying to figuring out exactly how to nod to the past to having Chewbacca’s full facial look in the blink of an eye. Scanlan also noted about that particular bit of luck that it was one a great day for himself and his team.

That day was an amazing day for us because it literally allowed us to then go ahead and make Chewie with a likeness knowing that likeness was exactly like what Stuart Freeborn created.

Getting Chewbacca To Look As Furry As Possible

If you are a big fan of Star Wars, you may already know the original costume was knitted for Chewbacca with a combination of yak and rabbit hair for the original trilogy. However, when Neal Scanlan’s team was designing the look they at first felt as if that would be damned near impossible to replicate. Again, it took a little tinkering, but Scanlan and co. finally realized knitting was the only way to go. He said at Star Wars Celebration:

The second thing was the original Chewie suit was knitted by Stuart Freeborn’s wife. She actually knitted it! I said to [my team], ‘This is insane. We can’t knit the suit.’ But actually what we realized was she didn’t knit it because that was the only way they could do it, she knitted it because that was the perfect way to do it. Because [there’s] something about the way a wooly jumper moves and a wooly jumper stretches.

It isn’t easy to get a Chewbacca suit that looks and moves like the original. Neal Scanlan also told audiences that each hair is “placed in and knotted” one at a time. Ultimately, six or seven people were tasked with working on one Chewbacca suit, and even then a suit takes six months to complete. Six! The end result looks stellar, but it is very furry, and actor Joonas Suotamo has previously revealed some days on set it resulted in an unavoidable and uncomfortable temperature rise. Per Suotamo:

On interior sets there might not be any real airflow and the hairs would just trap all the heat to the fur and cause a slow temperature rise. While filming I would perform my bit and we would go again many times – usually this would take from an hour to 2 hours. On scenes requiring 3 hours I would sometimes need to start conserving my energy.

There are always tough puzzles doing creature work. We learned during the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi that there were over 180 creatures created for that movie -- a number of large magnitude. In general, Star Wars movies are large scale productions. The flicks not only create actual, fully formed creatures but often construct sets rather than relying on CGI to make the films come across as realistically as possible.

It's not just Chewbacca that has been fully formed for the new movies. Neal Scanlan also talked more about the sea cows which had to be transported by helicopter to come to life this weekend, so the attention to detail given to this franchise is really unparalleled.

With that in mind, it's not shocking to now know each Chewbacca suit took six months to come together.

Still, if you’re wanting to get into some legit Chewbacca cosplay, you have quite the challenge ahead of you. But if you’re happy to admire Chewie from afar, you can catch the creature designed character back in action when Star Wars Episode IX hits theaters this December. To take a look at what else we know about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, check out CinemaBlend's full guide.

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Rumor: Venom Could End Up In Spider-Man 3

Rumor: Venom Could End Up In Spider-Man 3

In a few weeks, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) will receive a much-needed European vacation in the planned sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home. And according to the most recent trailers, that sequel will delve into something mysterious for the MCU: the Multiverse.

When Marvel and Sony get around to eventually doing a third Spider-Man movie, however, one rumor now speculates that the buzzword will be something even more exciting to Spider-Man fans: Symbiotes.

The Twitter account for Roger Wardell broke some Avengers: Endgame rumors that turned out to be very accurate, so there’s a chance that the person’s “Insider Information” is accurate. For the time being, we will chalk this up as rumor, as there isn’t even a Spider-Man 3 for the MCU on the books at Sony, and the studio is focusing instead on getting Spider-Man: Far From Home off the ground.

But bringing Tom Hardy as Venom into the MCU makes a whole lot of sense, particularly because audiences responded far better than we would have anticipated to the character when he got his own movie in Venom. You wouldn’t want to have an MCU Venom as well as a Sony Venom. And the only time that we have been able to see our favorite wallcrawler sharing the screen with one of his most-popular villains was in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, which was a trainwreck of epic proportions.

At the same time, Sony might not be in a rush to lend their Venom over to the MCU, despite what the above Tweet suggests. The studio seems hard at work at their standalone “Spidey” universe k(that doesn’t have Spider-Man in it yet, mind you), with Morbius following up Venom, and plans for a Venom 2 that assumedly will develop Woody Harrelson as Carnage.

Venom made a lot of money for Sony, banking $855 million globally. Audiences will return for the sequel, out of curiosity. The better bet, for Sony at least, would be to lure Tom Holland from Marvel Studios back to Sony, where he can play alongside Hardy, Jared Leto and the stars being set up in the Sony Spidey universe.

But I can also understand why Marvel wants a heavy hitter like Venom in the MCU. It’s a difficult situation.

There are better villains who seem to be more important to Spider-Man than Venom who should get a shot at the MCU treatment. The Venom origin story has been truncated in the Sony universe, so far, so trying to bring him over to the MCU without properly addressing the alien symbiote suit might get confusing.

Personally, as a die-hard Spider-Man fan, I’d love to see the MCU get a proper crack at two classic Spidey villains before they even started thinking about Venom, and that’s both Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius. Osborn could become a Big Bad not just in the Spider-Man movies, but in the larger MCU, as Norman became a chief adversary for many major Marvel heroes over the years.

And the most recent Playstation Spider-Man game mapped out a fantastic way for the MCU to do Doc Ock on screen. Also, more than enough time has passed since Alfred Molina’s spectacular rendition of Doc Ock in Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, so we are ready to see a new version of the character.

For now, this is all a rumor. All we know for certain is that Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) is joining Spider-Man’s corner of the MCU in July, and what happens after that is up in the air. Click here, then, for more details on all that we know about Upcoming Marvel Movies.

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Disney Theme Parks Are Snuffing Out Their Smoking Areas

Disney Theme Parks Are Snuffing Out Their Smoking Areas

A lot of things are changing as both U.S. Disney Parks get ready to open the highly anticipated Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Before that happens, Disney Parks have instituted a handful of new rules. The most important of which is that as of May 1, smoking areas are being removed Disneyland Resort, the four theme parks of Walt Disney World, the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Florida, and Downtown Disney in California, making all those areas completely smoke free.

When Disneyland first opened in 1955, smoking was permitted throughout the park. However, as information and education regarding the dangers of smoking became more widespread, this shifted to the creation of designated smoking areas, where people who wanted to smoke had to stand if they wanted to indulge.

While I can't speak about Walt Disney World as well, as somebody who has visited Disneyland with a smoker on several occasions over the last few years, I can say that the number of designated smoking areas has been steadily on the decline (my friend's favorite smoking spot over by the Matterhorn disappeared a few years back), but this morning the Disney Parks Blog announced that in just over a month those few remaining smoking areas will be gone as well.

Those who smoke won't be completely out of luck when they go on their next Disney vacation. Smoking areas will be set up outside the entrance of all the newly smoke free areas. Since there's no problem with re-entry to any Disney park, all tickets allow it, you can always leave the park to smoke and then go back in if you absolutely need to do so. Disney Springs will apparently be keeping its designed smoking areas and will not be going completely smoke free.

A few other minor rule changes were announced alongside the end of smoking that will also go into effect May 1. While Disney Parks have always been surprisingly open in allowing guests to bring their own food and drinks into the park, loose ice, and also dry ice, have now been banned. Reusable ice packs are still permitted so if you need to keep something cold, that's the way to go.

Disney Parks are also changing the rules on what strollers will be allowed inside the parks. The new limits on size are 31" wide and 52" long. This should still allow for most standard and even double strollers to be admitted, but those that transport their kids in wagons or strollers that look like small villages will need to make other plans.

Seeing smoking banned in the parks was certainly a move that was going to come sooner rather than later. It was already largely restricted and considering how smoking is gone in most other public places, it's not a surprise. No Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort hotels even have smoking rooms anymore.

At the same time, it probably wasn't looking out for people's health that led to this change. Both the smoking ban and the stroller restrictions are likely being put in place to simply make movement through the parks easier for everybody. Smoking areas are now places everybody can be and nobody will be holding up traffic with strollers that are too big. This, combined with reports that Disneyland has actually been removing benches to make space, would likely indicate this is all being done as a way to help with guest traffic ahead of the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios especially are about to become very crowded, and every bit of real estate is going to matter.

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Chris Evans Can’t Wait For The Avengers: Endgame’s Spoiler Ban To Be Lifted

Chris Evans Can’t Wait For The Avengers: Endgame’s Spoiler Ban To Be Lifted

It's been a week since Avengers: Endgame hit theaters, and the movie still being talked about in hushed tones. Both the fandom and directors The Russo Brothers encouraged moviegoers to keep the film's secrets, with #DontSpoilTheEndgame going viral ahead of its release. But this weekend is Endgame's second in theaters, so the public is slowly loosening the reigns on the blockbuster's contents.

The Russo Brothers recently did an appearance on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast, and were able to finally get chatty about Avengers: Endgame's contents. They also revealed they believe the statue of limitations of Endgame spoilers is up after this weekend, which should fans and cast alike very happy. In fact, Captain America actor Chris Evans seems pleased as punch, as he recently tweeted:

It looks like Chris Evans shot some secret footage from the set of Avengers: Endgame. And with The Russo Brothers' blessing, he may start posting videos and photos starting this coming Monday.

Spoilers were almost synonymous with Avengers: Endgame's release, as the internet became a very dangerous place in the days leading up to its debut in theaters. The movie leaked online, and advanced screenings meant the movie's contents were readily available for moviegoers who simply couldn't wait until opening night.

Kevin Feige and The Russo Brothers were clearly displeased with Endgame's various leaks, encouraging moviegoers to take care of themselves and keep the secrets until an appropriate time. And that time appears to be in a matter of days, as Monday May 5th is apparently the final day of the fan-mandated gag order.

Related: 6 Incredibly Easy Ways To Avoid Avengers: Endgame Spoilers

The Russo Brothers mentioned this date on ReelBlend, speaking with hosts Sean O'Connell, Jake Hamilton, and Kevin McCarthy about all of Avengers: Endgame's contents. It was Joe Russo who spoke to the Endgame's secrets up until a point, with:

You have to be fair about it because we are, as you know, exceedingly anti-spoiler and I feel it, for the same reason, it's bullying. It could even be sociopathic to go online or, or walk out of a theater like some guy did and shout out the end of a movie while a bunch of people are standing in line waiting to go see it. And they've got 10 years of their life and their time and their emotions invested in it. It's a despicable thing to do. But I think you have to be fair. Two weekends feels like enough time for everyone to get to see it and then people should be… because you also want people to be able to talk about it. And so at a certain point, I think after the second weekend, it's okay to share spoilers.

And just like that, the Marvel fans were given a date when they could freely discuss the myriad twists of Avengers: Endgame. And considering it's coming from the Russo Brothers themselves, it looks like Monday will be a very lively day at the water cooler and on social media.

While it may have been a long week of keeping secrets for Marvel fans, imagine what it was like for the cast and crew. The Russo Brothers have been working on Infinity War and Endgame for the past three years, and the cast has had to remain tight-lipped about exactly what went down on set. Endgame was the cumulation of the last 21 movies, so the expectations was sky high. As was the pressure to not spoil any of the blockbuster's plot.

Chris Evans and his Avengers co-stars are presumably relieved that Endgame is finally in theaters, and they no longer have to worry about sidestepping questions about the movie in interviews. Plus, cast members can finally share their experiences on set, especially the big group scenes. Chris Pratt has already shared one such video, check it out:

With the statue of limitations ending in just a few days, we should get more videos like this. And Chris Evans seems to be psyched to join the party and celebrate Avengers: Endgame's massive success.

Avenger: Endgame is in theaters now, and making a ton of money at the box office. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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Glass’ Original Opening Scene Was Way More Chilled Out

Glass’ Original Opening Scene Was Way More Chilled Out

Here’s a new M. Night Shyamalan twist: the Glass director famous for his unexpected endings actually has an alternate opening he’s revealed as it's released digitally today. The final film in the trilogy that began with 2000’s Unbreakable and continued with 2016’s Split was going to begin at the psychiatric facility that much of the film is set in.

The brief alternate opening (via Entertainment Weekly) has men on ladders installing cameras to the walls of Glass' main location before the eerie string music sets the scene for the movies and the opening titles roll. M. Night Shyamalan has explained why he originally thought this scene would open the movie thusly:

Structurally, what I wanted to do with the movie was to kind of say to the audience that the whole movie is going to take place in one location… My original concept of how to set up that premise: the whole movie is going to take place in this one place, we’re going to come back here. So, I wanted to start in this mysterious place where they were setting up this ambiguous kind of rooms and things for we don’t know what purpose.

This alternate scene certainly builds a bit of tension for the audience in the beginning of Glass, but it was decided that it wasn’t particularly necessary to the film. Since many of us went into the movie knowing the facility was going to be a huge part of Glass’ storyline, I’d say it was a good call. Directors such as M. Night Shyamalan have to make a ton of tough decisions when cutting together their movie, and this is an interesting one that certainly would have worked. However, here’s why he decided against it:

Ultimately it didn’t end up in that structure because there were too many beginnings and the beginning of the movie. What I did was move Patricia to the front, immediately start with her and pick up right after Split.

So instead of starting with the mysterious, Shyamalan went for the familiar. James McAvoy’s Split character was likely what many had most recently seen from the franchise, so it served as a great refresher to pick up with the story with Patricia, one of the Horde’s identities. The director also said Glass already had too many beginnings, since it also needs to quickly fill a large gap of time between David Dunn’s role in the franchise, so taking this portion out likely served the movie well.

Shyamalan has said that Glass used to be way longer, with a runtime of three hours and 20 minutes before shaving it off to a more reasonable time of 2 hours and 9 minutes. The director certainly seems like he had a grand vision for the trilogy closer. Considering the overall positive reactions of fans (polarizing the brutal critical reviews) and its $246 million worldwide gross, things turned out great.

Glass is available on Digital HD today and will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 16.

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Why Shazam! Works So Well As A Crowdpleaser, According To The Cast

Why Shazam! Works So Well As A Crowdpleaser, According To The Cast

The DC Comics brand of films has been on the mend, with its most recent efforts in the world of comic adaptations gaining a lot of attention and affection from fans. That trend looks like it’s continuing with the theatrical release of Shazam! set to take the public by storm this weekend, with early reactions trending in the film’s favor. Even the cast of the film knows how latest DC adaptation that makes it a bona fide crowd pleaser, and they weren’t afraid to share their thoughts. While the answers may differ slightly, all roads lead to two key elements; fun and heart.

During the recent press day for the film, CinemaBlend got to sit down with the cast of Shazam! to discuss how this superpowered adventure gives the people what they want. And starting off with Dr. Silvana himself, the always solid Mark Strong, the film’s appeal is very easy to see. In particular, Strong pointed out the following elements that really brought the film together:

It’s just so irreverent, and so much fun. The notion now that we’ve seen a lot of superhero movies in which the superheroes are really capable, and now suddenly we see one who has no idea how to use his powers, is really funny. So I think people will enjoy the humor of that. I hope they also then enjoy, conversely, quite how dark and weird and creepy the bad guy story is as well. And then, of course, there’s the family theme at the heart of it all; which is quite moving, I think.

Mark Strong is certainly not new to the DC Comics rodeo, as his performance in Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds introduced him as Sinestro, the would-be baddie of that corner of the DC universe. So seeing his thoughts on how Shazam! works as a film come from not only a place of experience, but also of genuinely constructive criticism.

Also, Mark Strong nails it on the head when he mentions the fact that director David F. Sandberg’s film is a great mixture of the fun and the family, with a nice sprinkling of the scary on top. Which also works, considering a big part of the demographic for Shazam! just happens to be kids and teenagers who will be flocking to their local theaters this weekend to partake in the joys this film has to offer.

It helps that there were some kids on hand during the Shazam! press day that could confirm those thoughts are, in fact accurate. With Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer on hand for the festivities, we also got to speak to them about what audiences should expect when seeing Warner Bros’ new comic book movie. And judging by their reaction, and the quotes below, fun is a huge part of the crowd-pleasing energy Shazam! has going for it:

Grazer: ‘They should expect some noise, some laughter, some constant applause because this movie is so damned good. It’s really really fun. When we went to the movie theater to watch it with the fans, they were all over the place. They were ecstatic, they were laughing…’

Angel: ‘They were jumping up and down in their seats.’

Grazer: ‘...on their toes. Yeah, it was great.’

As they were answering the question as to what makes Shazam! such a crowdpleaser, there was this current of energy that filled the room. Both being young, up-and-coming actors, Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer are clearly excited to see this movie about to take off. It sounds like they had a lot of fun watching it with a crowd during one of the several public screenings that have been conducted to really hype up the movie.

But, of course, how can you talk about Shazam! without roping in the man in the suit himself: certified crowdpleaser Zachary Levi. When it came his turn to answer the question of just what makes his big superhero debut in the DC universe something you can watch in a theater, surrounded by fans of the source material, he knew exactly what makes this film work in front of a crowd. The first part of Levi’s answer went as follows:

The everything. It’s got everything, guys. It’s wish fulfillment on the purest level. It’s the little kid in all of us who’s always dreamt about being a superhero, and now can say a magic word and become a superhero. That’s like the most cool, iconic archetype of the hero story I can think of. Plus, it’s layered with so much heart, and so much fun and [it’s] funny. I mean, there’s so much comedy, and some creepy stuff as well, you know.

The fun that shines through in Shazam! is undeniable, and you can literally see it on Zachary Levi’s face, throughout our interview and other venues during the film’s press tour. But the best part is, the fun that went into making the film as thrilling as it turned out to be in the finished product certainly doesn’t betray the message it’s trying to put across.

That fact isn’t lost on Zachary Levi either, as when he continued to answer the question of what makes Shazam! a singular experience as a film, he hit on a couple of points closer to the emotional heart of the film, which find themselves integrated rather well alongside the more spectacular elements. Levi continued by mentioning the following:

I think a lot of people will see themselves represented on screen, particularly people that might not feel as represented on screen, and I think that’s really beautiful. The family dynamic speaks to a lot. We get to tell a story about foster kids. There are 450,000, or so, kids in the United States right now in the foster system, and I love that they have themselves to look up to. To be empowered by, to shine that light, even in a small way, is a very powerful thing.

The DC Comics film franchise has come a long way from the days of people debating its depiction of Superman, as well as the question of whether or not the series on the whole really understood the comics to begin with. Shazam! definitely proves itself to be a course correction in line with the whimsy of Aquaman and the empowerment of Wonder Woman, and it’s going to be particularly interesting seeing the public reaction to the film as it opens wide. In the meantime, check out the reactions of the cast of Shazam!, in regards to their own film, in the clip from our interview shown below.

Shazam! says the magic word on April 5th; but if you’re curious about what’s coming down the pike after you’ve enjoyed this magic powered romp, you can take a look at the 2019 release schedule and choose your next adventure accordingly!

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Is The New Mutants Being Delayed Again?

Is The New Mutants Being Delayed Again?

The New Mutants has had a rough go on the way to being released, with so many factors and obstacles getting in the way of telling this horror tinged tale adjacent to the X-Men universe. And just as we’d gotten used to the idea that there was a countdown to an actual release of director Josh Boone’s superhero horror-show, new rumors speculate that the film is, yet again, suspected to be bumped to a later release date.

A supposed source at Fox says that The New Mutants isn’t going to make its currently specified August 2 release date. This comes after the film was already moved from its original home of April 13, 2018 to the seemingly more comfortable February 22, 2019. Now it looks as if there’s going to be another hunt for prime calendar real estate, as two factors have apparently delayed director Josh Boone’s motion picture for the time being.

Those two factors are the old fashioned pairing of Disney and Fox’s merger putting a hold on any big releasing decisions until their union was complete, as well as the non-existent reshoots that were supposed to have reshaped The New Mutants into release-worthy form.

While we’ve seen Disney start to make decisions about Fox projects recently, choices that have left films like Mouse Guard out in the cold, that new footage is still lingering unfilmed. Whether it’s due to scheduling or creative differences, no one knows at this point, but it’s a crucial enough stumbling block that The New Mutants might not be seen for some time now.

Fox’s unknown source spoke with genre news site iHorror and said that while there isn’t a new release date in the works, it’ll be “far away from August.” So if you were hoping that 2019 would still see two mutant powered hits coming our way, those odds just reduced dramatically. How far away from The New Mutants’ initial release date is far enough isn’t known, but the invocation of that very phrase is enough to assume that this calendar year is probably off the table. That is, unless Disney and Fox plan to do some sort of stealth drop onto a streaming platform as previously rumored, which honestly wouldn’t be such a bad idea at this point.

Fate has not been kind to The New Mutants, and should this rumor pan out, it will be another sling and arrow of misfortune sent the way of that particular film. Though, should Dark Phoenix effectively rekindle the fire between the moviegoing public and the X-Men franchise, there could be a push to get the film out, in one form or another, by the end of 2019.

The New Mutants, unless someone comes forth in the next couple of days and corrects the assumption, is slated for release on August 2. Should that change and a new date be announced for some point within the year, we’ll not only report back, but we’ll update the 2019 release schedule to reflect the project’s new status.

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