Captain Marvel Will Lead The MCU, Kevin Feige Says

Captain Marvel Will Lead The MCU, Kevin Feige Says

The MCU is going to look different soon. The popular cinematic universe is in a transitionary period as several of the characters we've come to know prepare to take their bows in Avengers: Endgame. Once we enter Phase 4, new heroes will rise up to take the reins, and leading the pack will be Captain Marvel. Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige promised that Brie Larson has a very healthy future in the MCU to look forward to.

When we found out that Brie Larson might be interested in joining our world, we had a number of meetings. She was a huge fan of the character in the comics. One of the highlights of my career at Marvel was introducing her at Comic-Con and having her come out on stage and stand there with literally almost everybody else from our movies. There she was at the forefront, and it was a great foreshadowing – not just for how audiences are going to embrace Brie as this character, but also for how Captain Marvel is about to take the lead and be at the forefront of the entire Cinematic Universe.

You might have heard about this already, but there's a movie called Captain Marvel in theaters right now soaking up all the money. The film features the long-awaited debut of Brie Larson's Captain Marvel into the MCU. All the way up to the premiere of the movie, Captain Marvel has been hyped up to be a big addition to the MCU, with Carol Danvers being one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

Danvers will be using that power to give Thanos a whoopin' in Avengers: Endgame, but there's much more to look forward to after. Marvel Studios has been setting up the next generation of heroes to take over for the old guard, and it sounds like Captain Marvel may be our new Iron Man.

In the Captain Marvel: The Official Movie Special (via Comic Book), Feige teased what was to come for Captain Marvel. It should come as little surprise to fans that we will be seeing a lot more of her as she steps into a leadership role in the MCU. It sounds like we can count on Carol being in the center of a lot of posters from here on out!

It's been strongly hinted that Endgame will leave us with an new roster of superheroes to take us through the next iteration of the MCU. Captain Marvel and Black Panther are already proving to be major successes and it's great to hear that we will be seeing more of Carol. The Captain Marvel movie is doing great right now and it's a solid set up for more adventures down the road.

You can see Captain Marvel in theaters right now.

Read More

Ghostbusters 3 Has Cast Its Lead Actress

Ghostbusters 3 Has Cast Its Lead Actress

After years of waiting and development hell, it seemed like there would never be another sequel in the original Ghostbusters franchise. But, as if rising from the grave like a specter, Ghostbusters 3 is officially happening. Jason Reitman, the son of the original Ghostbusters director, is on board as director, but not a lot about the film is known. We do know that it will feature several new characters who will strap on proton packs, and it looks like the lead actor has been found. McKenna Grace ain't 'fraid of no ghosts!

While technically a sequel to the comedy classic that starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson, there's no word on if any of those characters will return. Instead, four teenagers -- an older set and a younger set -- are taking over as our main characters, and it sounds like they will be led by Mckenna Grace.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mckenna Grace has been cast in the new Ghostbusters film. The report even goes as far as to say that Grace might be in the starring role, which would be a major get for the rising star. Grace joins the already cast Finn Wolfhard and Carrie Coon. Wolfhard will play her brother while Coon is their single mother.

Mckenna Grace should be a familiar face to many. She recently played the younger version of Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, which went on to break numerous records at the box office. Playing younger versions of a main character has become something of a specialty for Grace, having also done it in The Haunting of Hillhouse, I, Tonya, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The young actor also starred alongside Chris Evans in the drama Gifted.

Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters has been the subject of some debate ever since it was announced. Some saw it as a response to the sexist backlash that plagued the all-female Ghostbusters reboot, and this wasn't helped by the director's poor choice of words that they were giving the franchise "back to fans."

However, the casting of Mckenna Grace as the ostensible lead and the focus of an all-new, younger cast seems to put those criticisms to bed. After all, you don't make the lead of your legacyquel a 12-year-old girl if you are trying to appease the "Ghost Bros" who trolled an all female Ghostbusters movie.

All in all, the new Ghostbusters is shaping up with a really promising cast. Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard are rising stars and Carrie Coon is amazing in everything she's ever done her whole entire life. (I'm a big Leftovers fan). I'm curious to see who they will cast to play the other two teenagers or how involved the original cast will be. Until then, enjoy this tweet from Reitman celebrating his newly casted family.

There's no release date for this movie just yet, but be sure to keep checking in with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated.

Read More

New Chucky Will Make A Major Change From The Original Child's Play Chucky

New Chucky Will Make A Major Change From The Original Child's Play Chucky

Sure, Game of Thrones coined the phrase, “What is dead may never die.” But that concept can also apply to just about every major horror franchise, as classic killers from Freddy to Jason appear to die, but always figure out how to return to create chaos. This is fine. Audiences WANT to spend more time with these terrifying threats. But it means that storytellers have to find fresh ways to bring the beloved horror threats back, and Child’s Play thinks it figured something out.

We are getting a new Child’s Play movie on June 21, from producers Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg. The new movie will serve as both a remake and a reboot of the classic Child’s Play franchise, which followed a doll named Chucky who was possessed by the spirit of deranged serial killer Charles Lee Ray. In the new movie, the team found a new way to revive Chucky, and detoured away from the serial-killer spirit inside of the doll.

It’s a major switch to the doll’s origin, and at a recent press event for the film, producer Grahame-Smith told CinemaBlend:

We sort of lean into more of the AI/Kaslan story and hint at a Chucky that is driven by something different than he is in the original series, when he's Charles Lee Ray and he's just a truly psychopathic killer in the body of a doll. [Also, there is] the mother/son story, the emotional component of the movie, which I feel like the movie really delivers. And then above all that, just the intensity, the gore, the fact that the movie is rated R, that it really does go there when it goes there. I think the movie looks big, is much bigger than a lot of movies that are our size - very affordable movie, we are. But we had big ambitions. Those are, I'd say, the primary things we're going for.

As the conversation continued – and also, as is made evident in the recent Child’s Play trailer that we are including below – the new Chucky is driven more by demonic Artificial Intelligence, and not by the spirit of a serial killer. This appears to give Chucky the ability to control more technology, as the new trailer appears to show him taking over drones, controlling power tools, and more.

Child’s Play producer Seth Grahame-Smith elaborated to CinemaBlend on the origin angle of Chucky in the new movie, explaining:

You're getting at the heart of, I think, what a lot of people are inherently skeeved out about AI. Does it have its own agency, or is it just a series of processes and commands and executions? The truthful answer is by the time the movie's over, I don't know. I think at the beginning of the movie, you'll see sort of briefly why this particular doll is the way that he is, and it's not every one of these dolls, right? So why is our Chucky special. And then it's going at that inherent need to make his child happy no matter what, right? To bond with him, to be with him. It starts out like you saw in the clip, very sweet. It's two characters in Chucky and in Andy that both in their own ways at that point in the movie been rejected. Andy is certainly in need of a friend, and finds one in Chucky. So that's the reason we showed you that clip, because we wanted to sort of lean into that this is a relationship that is genuine that goes off the rails in a big way. It's not just brooding, and it's not sinister from the jump. It gets there, for sure, but that I think just gets to the heart of what we're trying to do here, and why we felt like there was a why and a cultural relevance to doing a different version of this classic series.

As the conversation played out, CinemaBlend learned that Child’s Play isn’t just changing Chucky, at his core. It’s also making changes to the boy who befriends Chucky, thereby changing their relationship. Andy in this new movie is older than he was in the 1988 Child’s Play, which kind of means that he’s past the point of playing with dolls. Seth Grahame-Smith assures fans that the movie will address that immediately, and goes on to say:

He's not necessarily like super excited about this gift when he gets it. But once he realizes that this thing has his interest in his heart and mind, they grow on each other. We knew that one of the differences we wanted to do here was to ultimately put more pressure on kids having to do this than in the original movie where it's Karen and Detective Mike, primarily Detective Mike, hunting this [doll] down. And now Detective Mike is a big part of the movie. Brian Tyree [Henry] is amazing in the movie, and obviously Karen - Aubrey [Plaza] - is amazing in the movie. But that really helped us give Andy sort of a life away from mom that we could exploit for different things.

All in all, it’s sounding like the team behind the new Child’s Play went above and beyond to make their story stand apart from previous versions of the Chucky story, hoping to make improvements while also luring a fresh audience into this world. Remakes and reboots aren’t always guaranteed successes, but it sure is looking like the new Child’s Play has updated the look and feel of Chucky, as evidenced by this most recent trailer.

Child’s Play will hack and slash its way into a competitive summer blockbuster frame, arriving on June 21 where it will go toe-to-AI-toe with Toy Story 4 (a totally different story about toys with emotions), and the pending Annabelle Comes Home. The competition for the horror dollar will be intense, but because of the major changes introduced into this new Child’s Play take, we think it looks interesting enough to lure both fans of the original franchise, and newcomers looking for creative, never before seen thrills.

What do you think of the changes made to the new Child’s Play? Does it make you excited to see it? Weigh in down below in the comments section. Maybe you’ll make a new best friend while you are down there.

Read More

Reese Witherspoon Actually Helped Write Cruel Intentions

Reese Witherspoon Actually Helped Write Cruel Intentions

Teen movies are a very unique genre, and can vary greatly in quality from movie to movie. While some are over the top comedies and rom-coms, others take on decidedly more adult content. Just take 1999's Cruel Intentions, which saw its young cast manipulating and seducing each other. That movie became an instant classic, with dialogue still quotable today, fantastic cast, and a killer soundtrack to boot.

The Cruel Intentions cast and crew are currently celebrating the whopping 20th anniversary of the beloved cult classic. As such, some new information is coming out about the teen drama, and the behind-the-scenes scoops that moviegoers haven't been privy to. Just take the role of Annette Hargrove, played masterfully by Reese Witherspoon. As it turns out, she helped to craft the character, and even re-write the dialogue. As director/writer Roger Kumble recently revealed:

It’s true, she came and sat with me for a week, and we worked on the dialogue together. Annette was the character most removed from me. There’s no way the movie would have its success if it weren’t for [Reese’s] talent as a writer.

Well, this is impressive. Reese Witherspoon may have only been 22 years old at the time of filming, but that didn't stop the young actress from contributing greatly to the Cruel Intentions. This includes adjusting Annette's dialogue to ensure both the audience and Witherspoon herself identified with the character.

Roger Kumble's comment to EW show what a talent Reese Witherspoon has always been, and seems to tease her eventual role as a producer. The Oscar winner knows storytelling, and her point of view has been brought to the forefront with the various project she's produced-- in addition to her work on camera. She was a producer on movies like Gone Girl and Hot Pursuit, although her influence is perhaps best seen through the highly successful HBO series Big Little Lies.

Playing the movie's ingenue isn't always easy. It's easy for an innocent and virtuous character to fade into the background, or be overshadowed by the bigger characters. Reese Witherspoon combatted this by working on the script, and giving Annette Hargrove her own agency in Cruel Intentions. Annette is sharp, funny, and empathetic. And she wasn't going to take any of Sebastian's typical crap.

Ultimately Annette changes arguably as much as Sebastian throughout the course of the movie. Her naivety is destroyed by Sebastian's sudden death, and she honors her late lover's memory by exposing Sarah Michelle Gellar's Kathryn for who she really was. Cue "Bittersweet Symphony" by the Verve. Also cue my tears as a teenager watching Cruel Intentions for the first time.

Cruel Intentions is celebrating its 20th anniversary. You can join the festivities yourself, and stream Cruel Intentions when it arrives on Netflix April 1st. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Read More

How Detective Pikachu May Set The Stage For Major Pokemon Character Ash Ketchum

How Detective Pikachu May Set The Stage For Major Pokemon Character Ash Ketchum

Warning! The following contains spoilers for Detective Pikachu. Read at your own risk!

Detective Pikachu is a great movie, and a wonderful nostalgia trip for those who were a part of Pokemon's original run 20-plus years ago - but there are bits of the film where older fans may have been a bit out of the loop. Those only familiar with the franchise up to the 151st Pokemon may have missed some of the deep cut references to successive games, not to mention been unfamiliar with some of the new species that are prominently featured. It still makes for a fun time at the cineplex, but imagine if there was a movie that focused on the Pokemon of the late 1990s.

Not to get anyone's hopes too high, but there's a possibility something like that could happen now that the new film is a hit. You may have missed it, but Detective Pikachu has a very subtle reference to past stories that very well could tie the movie into the anime world of Pokemon and the franchise's most famous human character. To spell it all out, below you'll find the details behind the reference that some may have missed, and an exploration into how it may set the stage for a popular figure who didn't appear in the film: Ash Ketchum.

Detective Pikachu's Reference To The Pokemon Anime And Pokemon: The First Movie

Detective Pikachu does a lot to establish Rhyme City as a part of the greater Pokemon universe, and surprisingly added a bit that may tie in the movie with the actual canon of the Pokemon anime and Pokemon: The First Movie. The moment comes when Tim, Pikachu, Lucy, and Psyduck explore Clifford Industries' lab, and learn more about the mysterious origins of the Pokemon, Mewtwo.

In a bit of dialogue, it's revealed that Clifford Industries managed to catch Mewtwo after it escaped the Kanto region 20 years ago. In the Pokemon anime, Mewtwo was in the possession of Viridian City Gym Leader and leader of the Team Rocket syndicate Giovanni, who operates in the Kanto region. Giovanni used Mewtwo (who was subdued with electronics) to defeat Ash's rival Gary in a gym battle. Mewtwo escaped shortly after that, which became the basis for Pokemon: The First Movie.

What makes this reference all the more interesting is the revelation that it happened 20 years ago, which is essentially how long it's been since Pokemon: The First Movie was released in theaters. It could be a coincidence, but there's something really intentional about that time frame that seems to show Detective Pikachu is wanting to align itself with the show's original canon.

Why Didn't Detective Pikachu Reference Ash Ketchum Then?

If researchers knew of Mewtwo's escape, then why didn't they know about Ash, Misty, Brock, or Team Rocket? Better yet, considering Tim believed he was going up against one of the strongest Pokemon in existence, why didn't he ring up one of the world's most prolific Pokemon trainers for some advice on how to bring him down?

There's actually a rather simple explanation for this: Ash Ketchum and his friends don't remember their encounter with Mewtwo. The powerful psychic Pokemon ended up wiping everyone's memory following the climax of Pokemon: The First Movie, and the characters resumed their lives as though nothing had ever happened. So, if Ash saw the news about Mewtwo in Rhyme City, he was probably just as shocked and as oblivious as anyone else who may have seen it.

While Mewtwo doesn't make any reference to Ash in Detective Pikachu, there are parts that imply he lived through the events of Pokemon: The First Movie. For example, he seemed far less ruthless and more forgiving of human kind in Detective Pikachu, whereas the version featured pre-Pokemon: The First Movie would've turned all the humans he encountered to stone really quickly. Fortunately, he only had to turn Ash to stone that one time to figure out it was a terrible idea he should never replicate.

Where Is Ash Ketchum In The Detective Pikachu World?

Ash was a little older than 10 when he faced off against Mewtwo, which would make him around 30 years old when the events of Detective Pikachu go down. Like most cartoon characters, Ash is basically ageless in the Pokemon anime, but while that would be an absolutely riveting plot point to tackle in a Detective Pikachu sequel, it feels more likely he would show up as an seasoned Pokemon Trainer played by an adult actor.

Ash travels around a lot, and he's gotten into some crazy situations. If Tim managed to run into Ash in the midst of some big mystery it wouldn't be the least bit surprising, and the two might even join forces. Of course, the question is, is there really a need for Detective Pikachu 2?

It would appear that Tim's issues are largely resolved with his father back in his life. Tim could still have some adventures with his dad and a non-speaking Pikachu sidekick, but that doesn't sound nearly as cool as the general premise. Ash Ketchum would certainly sweeten the deal, but maybe not enough that audiences would sign on for another Detective Pikachu where Ryan Reynolds isn't the voice of the yellow mouse.

Will Detective Pikachu Lead To A 90s Pokemon Film?

Detective Pikachu's mention of Mewtwo's origins could be the link needed for the franchise to take a trip back in time, making a movie that could potentially use Ash Ketchum as a way of telling the origin story of Mewtwo once again. Yes, it would essentially be a live-action remake of Pokemon: The First Movie, but could be completely different than the film with which American audiences are familiar.

For those that aren't aware, the story differences between the Japanese and American versions of that Pokemon movie are substantial. In fact, it's fair to say they're basically entirely separate movies, as the American version of Pokemon: The Movie was heavily edited and had its script changed to cater to American audiences. Had they stuck with the original, Americans could've had a deeply nuanced story about Mewtwo, his existential crisis, and a movie that honestly made the diminutive Mew seem like the true villain.

It's a story far better than what the American version of Pokemon: The First Movie delivered, which essentially stated that fighting is wrong in a franchise where the world's entire economy revolves around fighting. Now, Detective Pikachu has presented an opportunity to tell that story right if it wants to, and the company could retcon a very bad Pokemon feature and give America its first live-action Ash Ketchum in the process. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Should Ash Ketchum appear in the next Pokemon movie? Is remaking Pokemon: The First Movie a good idea? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for all updates regarding movies, television, and pop culture.

Read More

Captain Marvel's Nick Fury Almost Lost His Eye In A Fight With The Skrulls

Captain Marvel's Nick Fury Almost Lost His Eye In A Fight With The Skrulls

Warning: spoilers for Captain Marvel are in play. If you still haven’t seen the film, you may want to come back once you’re current.

Acting as the ‘90s throwback that it was set up to be, Captain Marvel set the table for a lot of different things that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has -- and will -- engage in during its thematic course of events. One such moment was, naturally, how Nick Fury lost vision in one of his eyes, something that had been alluded to previously but never explicitly shown onscreen before Captain Marvel.

While Captain Marvel gave us a definitive answer, we almost got an entirely different scenario altogether. One that would have seen Nick Fury losing an eye during a fight with some angry Skrulls.

During a recent interview for the home video release of Captain Marvel, directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were on hand to provide some insight into their big ticket MCU hit. And when it came to how Fury’s accident originally happened, Fleck provided the following commentary on how it was originally supposed to happen:

There were definitely a lot of discussions and that was not the first idea on the table. You're probably going to ask me what some of the other ideas were and I don't know if I can tell you that, not because I'm hiding anything, but because there were just so many absurd ideas we had. There was a strong contender for a while that a fight with the Skrulls seemed like the most obvious choice, but then the more we thought about it, it just became too obvious.

The scenario that the Captain Marvel team eventually landed on was not only a surprising turn of events, but also the most Samuel L. Jackson moment the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever included. During the action of the film’s third act finale, Fury casually gets his eye scratched by Goose, the cat co-star of Captain Marvel that has stolen the hearts of the world. This leads to him shouting a very PG-13 friendly, “Mother-Flerkin!”

It’s certainly that elusive surprise that Ryan Fleck seemed to be looking for when talking out the thought process behind plotting Captain Marvel’s reveal of just how Nick Fury got his memorable look. He continued to discuss that point in greater detail during his interview alongside Anna Boden for CBM:

Since this is just as much Nick Fury's origin story as Captain Marvel's, we thought that it would be a fun piece of his backstory that moving forward, he was creative a new narrative for himself that he didn't really talk about but he was fine with people wanting to muse about a potentially more serious way he could have lost his eye.

No one can blame Nick Fury for not wanting to talk about losing his eye to an intergalactic creature that had taken the form of a cat. It’s not an easy story that you could tell to just anyone, as there are a lot of other details that’d need to be involved in the telling. But losing an eye to mysterious circumstances involving the last person you trusted? That’s a total super-spy story, and that would probably get you at least one round on the house when going out for drinks.

Keeping the Marvel Cinematic Universe fresh is something that definitely takes a lot of work, and outside-the-box thinking. Changing Nick Fury’s pivotal, eye-destroying moment was one of those instances where the process worked out in everyone’s favor.

As we move into the future of the MCU, it’s that type of thinking that should propel the series into its next story arc. So if you see a cute animal on screen at any point in the future, think twice before holding it too close to your face.

Captain Marvel may still be in your local theater. If it isn’t, you’ll be able to take the film home either on Digital HD as of May 28th, or 4K UHD/Blu-ray/DVD on June 11th.

Read More

A Stalin Reference Was Reportedly Removed From Hellboy In Russia

A Stalin Reference Was Reportedly Removed From Hellboy In Russia

Every now and then, you’ll come across an instance where a movie has been edited because it’s airing in a particular country, like how some of the entries on Steve Rogers’ to-do list in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Solider were different depending on where the film was released. In the case of the Hellboy reboot, its Russian release was apparently adjusted so that a reference to Joseph Stalin was replaced with a different notorious historical figure being mentioned.

If you’ve already seen Hellboy, you might recall a moment when the eponymous protagonist mentions how the one-eyed with Baba Yaga, one of the movie’s side villains, once tried to resurrect Joseph Stalin. Here are his exact words:

I recall you tried to raise Stalin's ghost from a necropolis.

However, per BBC News, Russian moviegoers heard this line instead:

I want to remind you, you tried to raise Hitler's spirit from a necropolis.

That’s right, rather than reference the man who led the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1953, the Russian version of Hellboy decided to mention Adolph Hitler instead, another dictator from the mid-20th century. This isn’t the first time that a movie in Russia has had to deal with Stalin-related censorship, as last year the UK comedy The Death of Stalin was denied release in the country because it was deemed “disgusting” and “extremist.”

Going off social media responses, evidently many Russian viewers were not pleased with Stalin’s name being replaced with Hitler’s in Hellboy. It was also noted online that Baba Yaga mentioning Hitler doesn’t really make any sense since she’s a Russian folklore character.

For the English screenings of Hellboy in Russian, Stalin’s name was bleeped and the subtitles included Hitler’s name instead. This was one of only two ways that Hellboy was censored in Russia, the other being a Russian curse word that Grigori Rasputin (another Russian historical figure) utters being removed.

While the exact reasoning for why Stalin’s name was taken out of Hellboy, BBC’s article also noted that a recent poll showed that 70% of Russians believe Stalin played a positive role in Russian history. So this could just be an instance of not wanting to portray such a notable individual in a negative light.

In any case, the rest of Hellboy played the same in Russia as it did domestically. Hitting theaters last week, the reboot has taken a beating both critically and commercially, collecting a lot of negative reviews (it ranks at 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and has a C CinemaScore) and making only $15 million worldwide so far. There was also reportedly some major drama that went on during production.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news about Hellboy, and don’t forget to look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what movies are coming out later this year.

Read More