Could The Russo Brothers Return To The MCU After Avengers: Endgame?

Could The Russo Brothers Return To The MCU After Avengers: Endgame?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going strong for a decade, and the last 21 movies will collide when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters in a month. The narrative will pick up from the devastating ending of Infinity War, which saw half the galaxy fade to dust in the wake of Thanos' victory. The Russo Brothers did the impossible with that blockbuster, servicing a massive set of characters, and balancing both heart and action.

The Russo Brothers have had a stellar tenure in the MCU overall, as they've also directed the last two Captain America movies. Endgame looks like it will be their final bow in the shared universe, allowing the co-directors to branch out to new projects. But could they return one day? Joe Russo recently spoke to this possibility, saying:

We love Marvel, we've had an incredible experience with them. It's why we've made four movies in six years with them. They're like family to us. I think they do a great job of separating ‘church and state,’ where we're focused on the projects we're focused on, and someone else will focus on those other projects. We'd work with them in any capacity moving forward, and we value as much as anything in our work life the quality of the people we're around and quality of the life that we have when we're working with those people, and that's A++ when you're working with Marvel.

Do you hear that sound? It's Marvel fans everywhere cheering. Because while there's nothing on the books, it looks like The Russo Brothers are open to returning to the massive shared universe, and putting their perspective and attention to detail into another blockbuster. It just might not be right away.

Joe Russo's comments to Box Office Pro are sure to excite the moviegoers who have seen the Brothers' last three installments in the MCU. They made a serious plash with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, before eventually having a role in the overall direction of Phase Three. Captain America: Civil War proved how well they could handle a massive ensemble project, while Avengers: Infinity War went above and beyond expectations.

Given how successful The Russo Brothers have been during their tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's hard to imagine the franchise without them. Then again, imagining is all the public has been left to do, as the MCU after Avengers: Endgame is a complete mystery. Spider-Man: Far From Home may be the first release, but the future is totally unclear.

But Marvel Studios should be more transparent once Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters. Revealing the next slate of movies has the potential to spoil the events of the movie. As such, the studio is keeping its cards close to the chest. For the next month, at least.

Avengers: Endgame will finally arrive in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Chris Hemsworth Is Definitely Interested In Making Thor An Asgardian Of The Galaxy

Chris Hemsworth Is Definitely Interested In Making Thor An Asgardian Of The Galaxy

While Joe and Anthony Russo’s Avengers: Endgame provided fantastic endings for characters like Iron Man and Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor was left in a much different position by the end of the film – specifically with a new beginning. His entire life had previously been dedicated to the protection of his homeworld, Asgard, and his people, the Asgardians, but the latest Marvel blockbuster offered him the opportunity to leave that life behind and start a new one.

This was allowed to happen particularly because of his new friendship with the Guardians of the Galaxy, who offered him a ride off the planet after the God of Thunder named Valkyrie as the new King of Asgard, but it also left fans with a major pressing question: will Thor be joining the roughneck team on their further adventures around the cosmos? The definitive answer is still uncertain, but what can be confirmed is that it’s a big screen future in which Chris Hemsworth is interested.

Earlier today I had the wonderful pleasure of sitting down with the Australian actor during the London press day for the upcoming Men In Black International, and at the end of the interview I took the opportunity to ask him about his potential future with Marvel Studios. Specifically, I inquired if he’s had the opportunity to sit down and talk with writer/director James Gunn, who is back at the helm of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and while Hemsworth noted that he hasn’t had any conversations with the filmmaker, it’s a project to which he’d love to contribute:

I'd play that character again. I love it so much - especially if there's something unique to do again with it. I felt like the last three films were very, very different each time. It really felt like a totally different character. And I don't even know when or if they're shooting [Guardians of the Galaxy 3]. After the Avengers press tour I kind of went and buried my head in the sand.

I followed up with my own personal feelings on the matter, noting that the idea of “Asgardians Of The Galaxy” is a fantastic setup for a another chapter in Thor’s story, and Chris Hemsworth definitely agreed, saying:

I'll work with any of those guys. Asgardians Of The Galaxy. That's actually great. You might've just got me my next job. Thank you, man.

It's worth noting that the concept of Asgardians of the Galaxy does have precedent in the world of Marvel, even on beyond the line delivered by Chris Hemsworth's Thor at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Comics launched an ongoing series with that title back in the fall of 2018 - though its lineup was very different than what the movie version would be. While the big screen team would presumably include Thor, Star-Lord, Drax, Rocket, Nebula, Mantis, and Groot, the series created by Cullen Bunn and Matteo Lolli had a roster including Valkyrie, Executioner, Throg, Angela, Thunderstrike, and The Destroyer - controlled by Kid Loki.

Of course, this would be far from the first time that Marvel has taken a concept from the page and totally changed it for the movies – with James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy being a perfect example.

With James Gunn currently working in the DC Extended Universe, namely preparing Suicide Squad 2/The Suicide Squad for release in 2021, it may be a minute before we start hearing firm details about Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but Chris Hemsworth’s excitement about his potential involvement only increases our own anticipation for the film. Stay tuned for more updates about the movie, and more from my interview with the actor in the run-up to the release of Men In Black International – which hits theaters on June 14th!

The Suicide Squad Has Found Its First New Actress

The Suicide Squad Has Found Its First New Actress

The new Suicide Squad team coming to the screen is going to look very different from the the one in the previous film. It's made up almost entirely of new characters, and now it appears it will include one brand new actress as well. Portuguese soap opera star Daniela Melchior has reportedly been tapped to play the role of the character known as Ratcatcher.

Melchior is joining the returning Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. Additional new characters include David Dastmalchian as Polka Dot Man, John Cena, who is rumored to be playing Peacemaker, and Idris Elba, who is taking on an as yet unspecified role.

In the comics, Ratcatcher, who has the ability to train and control rats, has traditionally been a male role but the part has been gender swapped by writer/director James Gunn. Exactly why isn't clear at this point, though Variety is reporting that Ratcatcher will have some sort of a connection to Idris Elba's character in the film and it sounds like the switch is related to that story point.

Daniela Melchior has been a star of Portuguese film and television since 2014. Suicide Squad 2 will mark her debut in a major Hollywood film. With a cast that is otherwise made up of major stars, this is clearly a big move for Melchior, as, so far, the only major newcomer to the production. The movie could have almost certainly picked up another known star for the Ratcatcher role. Comic book movie parts are about as popular with Hollywood stars as they are with the audiences who watch the films.

While previous comments from the studio tried to argue that the new Suicide Squad movie was not a sequel to the previous film, it seems the truth of the matter is that, while the new film will follow the first chronologically, it will tell a very different story by virtue of having mostly brand new characters. The sequel will also follow a second appearance by Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, who will be starring in Birds of Prey before rejoining the Suicide Squad.

Reports are that at least one other major character, King Shark, will figure into the story. Unless it turns out that's the role Idris Elba is playing, then there is at least one other team member left to cast, assuming there aren't others that have not been revealed.

With casting well underway it looks like Suicide Squad 2, or The Suicide Squad or whatever it's called will be going into production this fall, ahead of a summer 2021 release.

Once the new Suicide Squad movie is completed, James Gunn will be crossing the comic demilitarized zone between DC and Marvel to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The first Suicide Squad was a massive success bringing in almost $750 million at the global box office. With the new movie being so different from the first entry, the sequel may not be an obvious hit, but with a strong new cast it certainly is being given the best possible shot.

4 Months After People Walk Out Of Holmes And Watson In Theaters, It's Topping DVD Rentals

4 Months After People Walk Out Of Holmes And Watson In Theaters, It's Topping DVD Rentals

Last Christmas was a great period for films. We had superhero adventures like Aquaman and the amazing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. There were beautiful family movies like Mary Poppins Returns and even Bumblebee. However, one movie that did not belong in this category was the Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly comedy Holmes and Watson.

Based on both the reviews and the box office, Holmes and Watson was a travesty of a movie, one of the worst in recent memory that had viewers literally walking out of the theater before it was over. And yet, four months later, the film is now at the top of the rental charts.

Movie rental company Redbox has released its rental charts for the week ending April 14, and quite surprisingly, Holmes and Watson finds itself at the top of the charts when it comes to physical disc rentals, and in the number two slot for digital rentals, behind Clint Eastwood's The Mule.

Holmes and Watson was something of an epic flop. Quite frequently, a movie that is panned by critics is still able to put up some decent numbers at the box office, but that wasn't the case here. The film holds an 11% rating on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes and has an only slightly better 27% score from the general audience.

Not only did a lot of people who saw it not love it, but not all that many people actually saw it. The film only made $30 million domestically and barely broke $40 million globally, on a reported budget of $42 million. The film was officially a box office flop, though it's possible the movie might be able to find its way to breaking even thanks to rental numbers.

Clearly, those who did not bother to go see Holmes and Watson on the big screen are willing to give it a shot with a rental. Redbox physical rentals can cost less than $2, which means if you pick up something you don't like, you're not out much.

Rentals in general are done by people who want to give a look to something that they missed in theaters. While the Redbox top 10s published by Media Play News do include those bigger films like Aquaman and Bumblebee, the lists are largely populated by movies that didn't make a smash, like Second Act, and Instant Family, in addition to The Mule and Holmes and Watson.

Of course, it has to be said that just because people are renting Holmes and Watson, doesn't mean any more people are actually liking it than they did the first time around. It's also hard to say how many people are actually watching it. Physical DVD rental may not be dead, but we have no idea how many people in absolute numbers are actually taking the time to go to a kiosk to rent it.

Still for a movie like Holmes and Watson, any good news should be celebrated.

Shazam! Director Reveals Behind The Scenes Look At His Cameo

Shazam! Director Reveals Behind The Scenes Look At His Cameo

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Shazam!

Big movies will often have fun cameos from their directors and DC’s Shazam! is no different. Director David F. Sandberg did show up in his delightful first foray into superhero moviemaking, but you could be forgiven for not spotting him. While many of Shazam!’s cameos are front and center for the audience to see, David F. Sandberg’s is very well hidden. The director recently revealed his cameo though and the process that went in to making it happen. Check it out:

The way David F. Sandberg presents this behind the scenes is funny, because when you first see him with his head covered in some kind of mold, you start wracking your brain trying to remember the movie and figure out what this cameo could possibly be. Or at least I did. The director was clearly getting fitted for some sort of molded costume and as you scroll through his Instagram pictures, you discover what that costume was.

David F. Sandberg cameoed as one of the Crocodile Men towards the end of the film, and it was clearly quite the involved process to make this cameo happen. Once the molds were made, we see that David F. Sandberg got to wear and test out a remote controlled crocodile head helmet that he could move with and snap its jaws. The prosthetic croc head even had the ability to electronically control the movement of the eyes and the eyelids.

The whole thing honestly looks ridiculous and kind of fun, if not a little stuffy. This also makes it plainly obvious why you could watch Shazam! a thousand times and not spot David F. Sandberg’s cameo without his reveal here. Quite a bit of work went in to making this practical effect and cameo happen, which is admirable considering that it could have just been done with CGI (without the cameo) for what was ultimately a very quick shot.

The cameo occurs towards the end of the movie, when Shazam and his foster siblings are trying to escape from the Rock of Eternity and Doctor Sivana and they come to a cavern filled with many doors to the Seven Realms. They begin opening doors to find a way out and one of those doors had the strange sight of three crocodile men in suits playing cards in it.

As David F. Sandberg shows in his Instagram, this isn’t an invention for the film but an Easter egg that has a basis in the comics. The Crocodile Men of the planet Punkus are villains of Shazam and members of the Monster Society of Evil.

This is quite a cool cameo that doubles as an Easter egg, and also shows how much fun David F. Sandberg wanted to have in this. He could have just shown up in the crowd during the bus scene or at the Christmas carnival at the end of the film but he went all out to do something different. There’s nothing wrong with more traditional cameos but its fitting that the horror director wanted to get a monster costume for his cameo.

David F. Sandberg’s heavily concealed appearance was far from the only cameo in Shazam! The film also featured a host of cameos from actors like Adam Brody as members of the adult Shazam Family, the appearance of which was a well-guarded secret prior to the film’s release. There was also something of a half-cameo by Superman at the end of the film, although it was not Henry Cavill.

Shazam! is now playing. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news.

How Captain Marvel's Critic And Fan Scores Compare To Previous MCU Movies

How Captain Marvel's Critic And Fan Scores Compare To Previous MCU Movies

Captain Marvel just opened on March 8 and reactions are flying across the web. You can check social media and article and video comments, but also places that specifically tally review scores. Rotten Tomatoes gets a lot of attention (not all of it great) for its fresh/rotten Tomatometer and Audience Score from fans. But there's also the average Metascore from Metacritic, the opening night moviegoers polled by CinemaScore, and thousands of users who rate movies at IMDb.

It's simplistic to just check an outlet's grade or score on its own and think you're getting the full picture. But if you compare those scores to other movies -- and pair the scores with real reactions from people who have actually seen the movie -- you can get a general idea of what viewers thought.

So let's do that for Captain Marvel. It's Saturday, the day after the movie opened, so the numbers will probably go up and down from here (but not the CinemaScore, that stays put). But we can compare the current numbers to the scores for previous movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain Marvel (2019)

(All percentages as of Saturday morning, 3/9, ET)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 79% (from 329 reviews)

RT Audience Score: 52% (from 28,742 user ratings)

IMDb rating: 6.8 (from 62,054 ratings)

Metascore: 65 (from 52 critics)

There have been 21 MCU movies as of Captain Marvel. All but one has gotten an A, A-, or A+ from the opening night moviegoers polled by CinemaScore. Captain Marvel joins the team with an average grade of A. (Thor, even with a not-too-shabby B+, you were robbed!) Captain Marvel's Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score, by contrast, is lower than anyone else's and that does seem connected at least in part to the negative campaign against Brie Larson's movie.

Here's how Captain Marvel compares to the 20 previous MCU movies, listed in order of appearance in theaters. Since Iron Man, for example, has been out for more than 10 years, it obviously has more user ratings by this point than Carol Danvers' film.

Iron Man (2008)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% (274 reviews)

RT Audience Score: 91% (1,080,703 user ratings)

IMDb rating: 7.9 (836,705 ratings)

Metascore: 79 (38 critics)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

CinemaScore: A-

Rotten Tomatoes: 67%

RT Audience Score: 70%

IMDb rating: 6.8

Metascore: 61

Iron Man 2 (2010)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 73%

RT Audience Score: 71%

IMDb rating: 7.0

Metascore: 57

Thor (2011)

CinemaScore: B+

Rotten Tomatoes: 77%

RT Audience Score: 76%

IMDb rating: 7.0

Metascore: 57

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

CinemaScore: A-

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%

RT Audience Score: 74%

IMDb rating: 6.9

Metascore: 66

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

CinemaScore: A+

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

RT Audience Score: 91%

IMDb rating: 8.1

Metascore: 69

Iron Man 3 (2013)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%

RT Audience Score: 78%

IMDb rating: 7.2

Metascore: 62

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

CinemaScore: A-

Rotten Tomatoes: 67%

RT Audience Score: 76%

IMDb rating: 7.0

Metascore: 54

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

RT Audience Score: 92%

IMDb rating: 7.8

Metascore: 70

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

RT Audience Score: 92%

IMDb rating: 8.1

Metascore: 76

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

RT Audience Score: 83%

IMDb rating: 7.4

Metascore: 66

Ant-Man (2015)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%

RT Audience Score: 86%

IMDb rating: 7.3

Metascore: 64

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

RT Audience Score: 89%

IMDb rating: 7.8

Metascore: 75

Doctor Strange (2016)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%

RT Audience Score: 86%

IMDb rating: 7.5

Metascore: 72

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 84%

RT Audience Score: 87%

IMDb rating: 7.7

Metascore: 67

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

RT Audience Score: 88%

IMDb rating: 7.5

Metascore: 73

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

RT Audience Score: 87%

IMDb rating: 7.9

Metascore: 74

Black Panther (2018)

CinemaScore: A+

Rotten Tomatoes: 97%

RT Audience Score: 79%

IMDb rating: 7.3

Metascore: 88

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

CinemaScore: A

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%

RT Audience Score: 91%

IMDb rating: 8.5

Metascore: 68

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

CinemaScore: A-

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

RT Audience Score: 77%

IMDb rating: 7.1

Metascore: 70

Those MCU percentages will probably change over time as well, in little increments, but not the CinemaScore, which is fixed from opening night moviegoers. From here, the MCU sees the opening of Avengers: Endgame in just over a month on April 26. Then the third MCU movie of 2019 opens with the Marvel/Sony movie Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5.

Keep up with everything heading to theaters this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule. Avengers: Endgame is meant to shake up the MCU, so keep up with all of the changes from here with our handy Marvel Cinematic Universe guide.

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.

Five Feet Apart Reactions Highlight The Divide Between Fans And Critics

Five Feet Apart Reactions Highlight The Divide Between Fans And Critics

Sometimes fans and critics just don't agree, resulting in some wildly different opinions on a single movie. Thankfully, there isn't just one right opinion and everyone else is wrong, but it's interesting to see what films can cause such different takes. The latest is Five Feet Apart, a young adult romance drama that audiences seem to love while critics were much less hot for it.

Five Feet Apart stars Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse as two people with cystic fibrosis who enter a relationship but have to stay five feet apart from each other at all times to avoid cross infection.

The film opened in theaters this weekend, and for the most part critics haven't been too smitten. Five Feet Apart has received mostly middling reviews, with critics writing that although the film features some strong performances (notably from Haley Lu Richardson), it gives in to too many cliches. The film is at 54% on Rotten Tomatoes at this point, but audiences are having much stronger reactions to the romance drama.

The audience score is currently at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, highlighting the divide between audiences and critics on this one. I personally tend not to place too much trust in user reviews, but fans are ranking it pretty high on other review aggregators. CinemaScore, which solely measures the audience's perception of a film, gave Five Feet Apart an "A" ranking, which really good. It's important to remember that CinemaScore surveys people right after they've seen the movie, so it usually gets them at their most passionate.

I don't think that it's too surprising that there's a divide on this one. Five Feet Apart is clearly going for a specific demographic, which critics don't seem to belong to. So, you could view this as the film playing well with the audience it was made for, but doesn't do much to appeal to others.

The more interesting reaction might be in the cystic fibrosis community. Evidently, those who possess the disease at the center of the film are mixed. According to Cystic Fibrosis News Today, some like the film and believe that it will bring a lot more awareness to their disease. However, others are insulted because they view the film as a way to profit from a disease.

The cystic fibrosis community is also divided on the portrayal of living life with the actual disease. Apparently, the movie only shows patients who are very ill, and not the ones who go on to lead successful lives. Additionally, the rule is that you have to stay six feet away from someone, not five.

You can decide where you fall on Five Feet Apart, which is out in theaters everywhere. For everything else premiering this year, be sure to check out our 2019 movie release guide.

How A Romantic Relationship Introduces A Big Change For Shaft

How A Romantic Relationship Introduces A Big Change For Shaft

John Shaft and his son John Shaft Jr. (evidently their familial relationship has changed) have both been known for two things: their reputations as ladies’ men and tough crime fighters who know how to get answers. With the addition of the third generation in JJ, Shaft is going to add some interesting dynamics to the world of that character. And one of the most surprising is the relationship between Samuel L. Jackson’s John Shaft Jr. and the mother of his child, Maya, played by Regina Hall.

For a man who followed in his father’s footsteps as being very social with women, John Shaft Jr. apparently found his romantic Achilles’ heel in Maya, as we’ll see in director Tim Story’s Shaft reboot. And during a set visit early last year, CinemaBlend was on hand with other journalists to learn just how that relationship will affect not only the story of the Shaft reboot, but also how it effects the legendary image of this character.

To start us off, here’s what we learned from Regina Hall, in terms of why Maya is so attractive to Shaft, but also why their relationship broke up at the beginning of Shaft:

She’s very good in bed. That’s how she got [John] Shaft. You know, Shaft has a lot of ‘em, but Maya came along, and he was like ‘That, right there.’ … His lifestyle is the problem, so when they have a child and she becomes a mother, and they get shot at by about 10 men, she decides that it’s probably safer for her to raise the baby away from Shaft.

While the trailer for Shaft showed audiences a lot of the set-up for three generations of John Shafts running around and fighting crime, we do get to see a little bit of Maya putting John Jr. in his place when confronting him about their son’s involvement in the film’s central case. And instead of the typical argument you would expect to ensue, we see Samuel L. Jackson’s second generation John take their encounters in stride.

It’s this fact that Regina Hall continued to elaborate on, as she further discussed the relationship between John Jr. and Maya as follows:

It’s good to see him in a position where he cares, so he’s not in a power position. And that’s the only time he’s not in the power position is when he’s with Maya. He’s like a man in love.

One of the core tenets of Shaft’s central character is that he is, in fact, a sex machine to all the chicks. But with JJ hot on the case of a murdered friend, and his father John Jr. helping him investigate, John Jr. and Maya get to bristle with energy

During that same day on the set visit for Shaft, we got to also talk to Samuel L. Jackson, as he walked into the room during our discussion with Regina Hall. And like any good partner, Jackson jumped in with further details about how John Jr. and Maya’s relationship is different from a typically conflicting romance. He laid down the following clues as to what we’ll see in their interactions during Shaft:

It’s not even a love/hate thing, it’s just a love/safety thing. She took him away from me, because my lifestyle is too dangerous. It had nothing to do with her falling out of love with me. But in the absence, people create and fill their space how they need to fill it. And she’s done that in those 25 years. … The separation is one thing. It’s like we literally don’t see each other, so all of a sudden when we see each other you can see, when they look at each other, this thing happens that’s almost irresistible. But it’s like, I’m not letting you pull me back in.

As there’s more of a careful mix between comedy and action in director Tim Story’s Shaft reboot, one of the binding agents that seems to balance those two factors out is this family reunion of John Jr., Maya and JJ; as well as the addition of Richard Roundtree’s original John. In a series primarily known for a single protagonist solving a crime, doing the legwork to find those responsible, and bringing them to justice, you need a strong hook to introduce such a dynamic this late in the game.

And the best description of just how the John Jr./Maya relationship balances those tones in Shaft is the one that both Samuel L. Jackson and Regina Hall gave as they discussed their on-screen romance:

Jackson: And generally, every time they’re together, something fucking dangerous happens.

Hall: Within six minutes, some shit pops off.

Jackson: Or I say something wrong.

Let’s just hope that Regina Hall’s Maya gets to be one bad mother herself, once it all hits the fan. We certainly won’t have to wait too long to find out, as Shaft is in theaters on June 14, and we’ll have more coverage available on CinemaBlend as we get closer to that film’s launch.

Did The Avengers: Endgame Trailer Tease A New Hawkeye?

Did The Avengers: Endgame Trailer Tease A New Hawkeye?

It’s been three years since we last saw Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton in action in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he’s finally back next month in Avengers: Endgame. This time around, he’s adopted a look reminiscent of his time as Ronin in the Marvel Comics, but obviously Clint is known best in both the comics and this film franchise as Hawkeye, archer extraordinaire. That said, it’s become common in the comics for multiple individuals in the comics to share the same superhero identity, Hawkeye being one of them. A new Endgame trailer dropped today, and there’s a moment that has us wondering if someone new will be taking over the Hawkeye mantle in the MCU.

What little we’ve seen of Clint Barton in the Avengers: Endgame previews so far have indicated he’s going through a particularly rough time post-Decimation. After all, he’d already retired from the superhero life at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and after picking his bow and arrows back up during Captain America: Civil War, he was imprisoned and made a house arrest deal so that he could be with his family. But once again, he’s back in the field, this time with a drastically different costume and a mohawk. Many people have assumed that Clint’s wife and children were turned to dust along with half of all other life in the universe, which explains his new look and darker demeanor, but that has yet to be confirmed.

However, there’s one brief moment of happiness for Clint Barton in the latest Avengers: Endgame trailer, as he’s shown have a good time with a girl showing off her own archery skills. Check it out:

At the very least, this snippet highlights a happier time in Clint Barton’s life, either in the past or potentially in the future, assuming he makes it out of Avengers: Endgame intact. But this is the MCU; the smallest of moments can be teases for something bigger to come later. In this case, perhaps Clint training this young woman in archery means that she’ll take over as Hawkeye in the coming years. In other words, is the MCU bringing in Kate Bishop?

Created by writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung, and introduced in 2005’s Young Avengers #1, Kate Bishop, who comes from a rich Manhattanite family, encountered the Young Avengers as a civilian during one of their early missions, but it didn’t take long for her and Cassie Lang, daughter of then-Ant-Man Scott Lang, to find the superhero team and invite themselves on as members. Initially Kate wore a variety of battle gear that belonged to various Marvel heroes and villains, including Hawkeye’s bow.

Although the main Avengers team demanded that the Young Avengers disband, Kate and the others refused, and when member Patriot was injured in battle, Kate blamed Captain America for he and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes not taking the time to train them. Impressed by Kate standing up to Steve Rogers, and noting that the only other person she’d seen do that to the Star Spangled Avenger was Clint Barton, Jessica Jones gave Clint’s old bow and arrows to Kate, leading to her becoming the new Hawkeye.

After Kate Bishop inherited the Hawkeye codename, Clint Barton was resurrected from the dead and had decided to wear Captain America’s uniform and shield since Steve Rogers had “died” after the Civil War conflict. Crossing paths with Clint, Kate, unaware of who he truly was, berated him for wearing Cap’s costume, noting that even though she’s going by Hawkeye, she didn’t copy his costume because that would have been disrespectful, and if Hawkeye were still alive, she would have taken a different codename too. Her words inspired Clint to go down his own path and become Ronin, and later he revealed his true identity to Kate and gave her his blessing to continue as Hawkeye. Clint would later revert to go back to Hawkeye, but Kate still holds that mantle as well, and the two have become crimefighting partners.

The MCU hasn’t delved into the concept of legacy heroes yet, but with Avengers: Endgame concluding the current iteration of this franchise and paving the way for a new era, that could change. Unlike Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner’s MCU future hasn’t really been a topic of conversation. While it hasn’t been rumored he’s done after Endgame, there’s also no indication he’ll be back for another movie or will lead his own Disney+ series. If Clint makes it out of Endgame alive and his family is brought back as well, one would imagine he’d want to return to his life of retirement. That leaves the Hawkeye mantle up for the taking, and Kate Bishop could easily fill that position, although the circumstances of her and Clint meeting would obviously be much different.

There’s also the possibility that it won’t be Kate Bishop who takes over as the new Hawkeye in the MCU, but Clint Barton’s own daughter, Lila. The problem with this theory is that the timeline, as sketchy as it is, doesn’t line up. Approximately 3-4 years pass between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame looks to be picking up shortly after Infinity War. But even with that amount of time having passed, Lila doesn’t look like she’s old enough to be the girl in the Endgame trailer.

That said, there have been plenty of rumors that Avengers: Endgame will visit the future, and it was rumored last year that Emma Furhman is playing an older version of Cassie Lang. Given his hairstyle, Clint obviously isn’t his Ronin self in this scene with the girl, so instead, this could is a flash forward to after Thanos has been defeated and everything has returned to normal… well, as normal as things can be in the MCU. If that’s the case, then that girl could easily be a teenaged Lila, and thus there’s setup for her to become Hawkeye even further down the road.

Whether Kate Bishop, Lila Barton or someone else takes over as Hawkeye in the MCU, or if we’ll even get a new Hawkeye, just like with the other starring heroes in Avengers: Endgame, this story will be a major turning point for Clint Barton. This is clearly a dark time for him, and while he was lucky enough to survive The Decimation, there’s no guarantee he’ll make it out of this latest mission alive. Still, I’m leaning towards Clint surviving, and if even if we don’t see Jeremy Renner in another MCU movie after this, his character’s left behind a notable heroic legacy, and it would be cool for a young woman, whoever she may be, to step in and continue where he left off as part of a new generation of heroes.

Avengers: Endgame opens in theaters on April 26, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. In the meantime, look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what’s lined up for Phase 4 and our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out later this year.

Top Gun 2: What We Know So Far About Maverick

Top Gun 2: What We Know So Far About Maverick

Do you feel the need for speed? We're willing to bet that you probably do, because there's a long-awaited sequel coming to theaters next year, and it has us squarely in the Danger Zone. That's right, folks. We're talking about Top Gun 2 a.k.a. Top Gun: Maverick. Many fans of the original film have spent the better part of the last three decades wondering if and when the sequel would ever happen, and we now know that Paramount is hard at work bringing us the long-awaited follow-up to the classic naval aviator movie that defined a generation and created a number of instant pop culture touchstones.

Cameras recently began rolling on the highly-anticipated sequel to Tony Scott's 1986 classic, and now it's time to look into the project and see what we know about it. With that in mind, and ahead of the film's July 12, 2019 release, we have put together a handy guide of everything you need to know about Top Gun: Maverick before it flies its way into theaters. We have several different points to get to, so let's start with the status of the film itself.

What Is The Top Gun: Maverick Release Date?

As noted earlier, Top Gun: Maverick is currently aiming for a summer release date. More specifically, the film will bow for audiences on July 12, 2019. This generally lines up with what we would've expected from this sequel, as the original debuted in May 1986, and the Top Gun brand is generally associated with the summer blockbuster season.

The definitive release date for Top Gun: Maverick is also noteworthy because of the sheer number of false starts that this project has experienced over the years. A Top Gun sequel is something that Tom Cruise has talked about for a very long time, but now that Top Gun: Maverick actually has a release date and is in the midst of production, it means that the movie is actually closer than ever to becoming a reality.

What Is The Top Gun: Maverick Rating?

With Top Gun: Maverick currently shooting in San Diego, California, we don't know what the film will be rated just yet. That said, given the fact that the first film was rated PG-13, it would make sense to assume that the sequel could get a similar rating when it goes in front of the MPAA. Even if the story is darker than the original, the odds of an R classification seem pretty slim. This is, probably, not going to be that type of movie.

What Is The Top Gun: Maverick Story?

Key details about the story of Top Gun: Maverick remain under wraps, but the clues that we do have suggest something that will honor, specifically, the movie that came before. The fact that the sequel is filming in San Diego seems to suggest that we will once again see Maverick at the Top Gun academy in Miramar, which is where he chose to become an instructor at the end of the first film.

Also worth noting is the fact that rumors of drone warfare playing a role in the sequel have been blown out of proportion. In fact, CinemaBlend asked director Joseph Kosinski about this in 2017, and he specifically pointed out that Top Gun is more about pilots than it is about planes, so sending Maverick up against a set of advanced drones would not make sense for the ethos of the franchise. So, don't worry; it looks like this won't be another Stealth.

Who Is Working On Top Gun: Maverick?

As we have already noted in this guide (and we will continue to note), Top Gun: Maverick is bringing Tom Cruise back as the titular pilot. However, he is obviously not the only key figure involved in the development and production of this movie. Specifically, the film has also enlisted the filmmaking talents of none other than Joseph Kosinski, who is perhaps best known for his work on Tron: Legacy, Oblivion (another collaboration with Tom Cruise), and 2017's Only the Brave. Kosinski has some big shoes to fill, as he's taking over the late, great Tony Scott.

In addition to Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick also has another major player behind the scenes as well: Jerry Bruckheimer. A key figure on the first movie, Bruckheimer is returning to produce the project along with Tommy Harper and David Ellison.

What Planes Will Appear In Top Gun: Maverick?

If you have seen the original Top Gun, then you already know that the F-14 fighter jet is as much of a character as any human seen in the film. That said, the Navy does not use the F-14 anymore, which means that it's time for us to look into the details and see what other planes might show up.

With that in mind, when the first-look at Top Gun: Maverick dropped earlier this year, it looked as if Maverick was walking towards an F-18 sitting on a tarmac. That said, the controversial image does not explicitly indicate that Maverick is going to get into that specific plane, leading some to wonder if there's another jet waiting in the wings (pun very much intended). If he doesn't get into the F-18, then it's very possible that we could also see him hop into the cockpit of the F-35.

How Much Will Top Gun: Maverick Connect To Top Gun?

At this point, we still know very little about Top Gun: Maverick or how it will connect to the movie that preceded it. Given the fact that the film will once again focus on Tom Cruise as Pete Mitchell, it makes plenty of sense to assume that this will provide the character with another trial to continue his arc and development. Having said that, when we consider how complete the arc of the first movie is, we still have no idea if any definitive narrative threads will carry over, aside from a few other returning characters.

Tom Cruise As Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

There's really no getting around this one. You cannot have a movie called Top Gun: Maverick without Maverick himself. Tom Cruise is set to return to the Top Gun universe as the hotshot fighter pilot, and we could not be more excited. The movie star has become a bona fide action icon in the years since the original debuted, with films like Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation and Collateral proving his stunt and dramatic chops, so we're excited to see what Cruise can do when he gets back in the cockpit.

With Tom Cruise reprising one of his most iconic roles, we're left to wonder how Maverick has changed in the years since the original movie. The original Top Gun is a movie about Maverick's acceptance of the death of his father and the death of Goose, which leads to hum no longer being an outsider. Given the completion of that arc, the new film will have to do something entirely different.

Val Kilmer As Tom "Iceman" Kazansky

One of the key sources of conflict in the original Top Gun came in the form of the rivalry between Maverick and Iceman during their time at the Top Gun academy. As his name suggested, Maverick's personality led him to fly by the seat of his pants, while Iceman preferred a colder and more measured approach to aerial combat. They reconciled their differences by the end of the movie, and now we can look forward to the continuation of that story with Val Kilmer returning to his famous role.

This should come as no surprise, as the former Batman has lobbied to return for Top Gun: Maverick for quite a while. Having said that, while we do know that Maverick will get in a jet in the upcoming sequel, we don't know if Iceman will still be a flyboy as well.

Wrigley "Riot" Bradshaw

Aside from the fact that Top Gun: Maverick will bring Tom Cruise's Pete Mitchell back into action for another round of badass dogfights, the most evident connection between the sequel and the original that we have been able to glean is the fact that Top Gun: Maverick will apparently bring in the son of Goose (Anthony Edwards) to play a role in the film. The death of Maverick's best friend continues to stand out as one of the most emotionally wrenching moments in the original movie, and the presence of his next of kin (briefly seen as a child in the first film) means that Maverick will still have to deal with the fallout of the accident when Goose's son shows up in a new generation of pilots.

That said, this raises some interesting questions when we consider how Goose's family views Maverick. In the original Top Gun, Maverick and Goose's wife (Meg Ryan) maintain a good relationship after the death of the beloved navigator, and it's never explicitly stated that anyone harbors any ill will towards Pete Mitchell -- if anything, the fact that Maverick isn't punished weighs on him even more. With three decades separating Goose's death and the introduction of his son (the casting of which has yet to be announced), Top Gun: Maverick needs to explain if this new character is a source of comfort for Maverick or a ghost from his past.

Tom Skerritt As Mike "Viper" Metcalf?

Top Gun is a franchise that predicates a lot of its stories on the concept of fatherhood and mentorship. Maverick's entire personality is carved out of the devastating loss of his dad, and much of his time at the Top Gun academy in 1986 was spent under the tutelage of Tom Skerritt's Viper -- a man who knew the truth about the fate of Maverick's father in Vietnam. We have yet to learn if Viper is set to return alongside Maverick and Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick, but Skerritt is still an active performer, so it remains possible.

Of course, one obvious thing that we should point out is that Viper's role has primarily been bequeathed to Maverick at this point. With Riot arriving at the Top Gun academy to train, Pete Mitchell will have to deal with his demons and grapple with his knowledge about how Goose died. This could easily pave the way for Skerritt's return in a sage-like role, or it could mean that he won't return at all.

Kelly McGillis As Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood?

Though the bulk of the emotional core in the first Top Gun focused on the relationship between Goose and Maverick, there was also a love story that has become just as famous. Specifically, we're referring to Kelly McGillis as Charlie -- a civilian analyst responsible for teaching the students at the Top Gun Academy in Miramar. Charlie was the one woman who could get Maverick to settle down, and Top Gun ended with the implication that they would go on to start a life together.

With all of that said, Kelly McGillis has definitely slowed down as an actress over the years. Moreover, Top Gun: Maverick is not listed as one of her current projects on IMDb. With the cameras now rolling, we will have to wait and see if she will eventually sign onto the project.

Michael Ironside As Rick "Jester" Heatherly

Every good military movie needs a drill instructor character to beat the heroes down emotionally and teach them how to handle a fight. Full Metal Jacket had the late R. Lee Ermey, and Top Gun had Michael Ironside as Jester. The ace fighter pilot served as the perfect counterpoint to Tom Skerritt's more reserved Viper, and his battles against Maverick and Goose continue to stand out as some of the best elements of the original movie.

That said, we still have no idea if Michael Ironside will return as Jester in Top Gun: Maverick. The 68-year-old Sam Fisher voice actor remains very active as a performer, but he has not signed on for the sequel yet. This absence could indicate that he simply has not agreed to join the project yet, or it could mean that Jester retired from active duty sometime between 1986 and 2019.

Kenny Loggins And "Danger Zone"

Of course, while there are numerous iconic story elements that make Top Gun the classic action film that it is, few aspects of the movie can compare to the beloved soundtrack. Numerous artists contributed songs to the original Top Gun soundtrack, but it's Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" that has handily become the go-to song associated with the film. Now, with Top Gun: Maverick in development, Kenny Loggins is going back to the drawing board to rework "Danger Zone" and update it for the modern era.

We don't have much information to work with yet, but what Loggins has shared about the project is enticing nonetheless. Specifically, the singer has confirmed that he's toying with the idea of recording a duet version of the song. It will undoubtedly be tough to match the sheer iconography of the first film, but we are intrigued to see where "Danger Zone" goes from here. Given director Joseph Kosinski's history of working with popular artists like Daft Punk, M83, and Dierks Bentley in his previous films, it's anyone's guess as to whom they will get.

What Percentage Of John Wick's Action Scenes Are Actually Keanu Reeves

What Percentage Of John Wick's Action Scenes Are Actually Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves has been playing John Wick on the big screen for five years now, and he’s about to present his third outing as the character with John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. In that time the actor has also passed the big 5-0 milestone, and would be forgiven if he allowed his stunt double to do plenty of his action scenes for him.

That doesn’t seem to be the case, however. According to Keanu Reeves himself, 90% of the action you’ll see in a John Wick franchise movie is really him. He said:

I do all of the action. I’m 90 percent of what’s happening there. I’m maintaining the connection to the audience, and with the story. If it’s wacky/crazy stuff, you’re just like, ‘Oh my god, what did I just see?’

Speaking during a recent interview, Keanu Reeves revealed he does actually do a huge variety of the stunts in the movie. There are plenty of stuntmen and women who are credited for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum – in particular there are special credits for motorcycle sequences as well – so it would be remiss if we didn't note there are plenty of men and women who do create additional stunts for these films.

Still, it sounds like when the actors can learn sequences, they make an effort to do so in the world of John Wick.

That said, if you’ve kept up with the franchise at all, you should know that John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum director is Chad Stahelski, who started out as Keanu Reeves’ stunt double early in his career and knows his way around an action sequence. Chad Stahelski first worked with Keanu Reeves way back when The Matrix was being made. His career with the now 54-year-old actor has been a long and fruitful one, leading into this weekend’s release.

Intriguingly, stunt work led by actors seems to be a common trend on the John Wick sets. Common previously also said he did an incredible “90%” of his own stunts on the set of John Wick: Chapter 2, confirming what Keanu Reeves said here in his interview with Today.

Halle Berry has also been discussing stunt work and the insane shape that she had to get in for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. She noted that she even broke three ribs while she was training to keep up with Keanu Reeves in the latest sequel. Per Berry:

It was a little terrifying at first because he’s so damn good, and I wanted to be on the same level as him. I didn’t want to disappoint him. I broke three ribs when I was rehearsing for John Wick… It’s like a badge of honor for me, we don’t know how it happened.

Halle Berry and her dogs have gotten a lot of notice in the early press and trailers leading into John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. If you haven’t caught the trailer for the movie yet, you can take a look below.

As for Keanu Reeves, the actor also admitted that these days filming action sequences is a little bit different than the earlier days of his career. He said:

Yeah, it’s more about recovery, but with experience, though, you become more efficient and hopefully you get better at what you’re doing.

You can see Keanu Reeves in action as John Wick when Parabellum hits theaters on May 17 and take a look at what the critics have said about the three-quel so far. In addition, you can check out all of the big summer releases coming with our full schedule.

Keira Knightley Says She Only Watches Her Films Once

Keira Knightley Says She Only Watches Her Films Once

We all have favorite actors that we love to see in movies. We'll watch our favorite performances and favorite stories again and again. However, not every actor who makes those movies is quite as excited to watch them as the rest of us. Keira Knightley recently admitted that she doesn't like to watch herself on screen and will usually only watch her films once. According to Knightley...

No, yeah. I dunno, it’s just weird. It’s like hearing your own voice. I dunno and I only see the bad bits. So, I’m like, ‘Oh, why did I do that?’

As somebody who regularly has to transcribe interviews I have done, I know exactly how strange, and largely off-putting, hearing your own voice can be. It seems that for Keira Knightley, the experience is only amplified. She not only has to hear her own voice, but see herself on screen and watch all the decisions that she made, including the ones she wishes she could do over.

Knightley says she only watches her movies once "if that." I would assume that question comes down to whether or not she attends the premiere of her movies. If she makes it, that's probably the only time she ever sees the film in question. If she doesn't for whatever reason, then she probably never bothers to go back and see the final product.

Knightley is far from the only person who avoids watching her own work. Many in Hollywood have talked about how they rarely if ever watch themselves. Putting yourself up on the screen like that makes an actor quite vulnerable. However, it probably doesn't necessity feel that way when you're shooting the movie. As long as you never go back and watch the movie, you don't realize how much of yourself you're putting out there. Honestly, it's far better than if she loved her own movies so much that she watched them a lot. If that happened, we'd have to worry.

Check out Keira Knightley's full comments on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the clip below.

Of course, one has to wonder if Keira Knightley might start watching more of her movies again over the next several years. She has a three and a half year old daughter, as she told Jimmy Fallon, and one has to assume that as that girl gets older and begins to understand just what it is her mother does, the kid is going to want to watch those films. As she becomes old enough to see them, Knightley might find her movies on in her house whether she likes it or not. Whether or not she likes that. Perhaps by then she'll be more comfortable with them.

Anne Hathaway Used Stewie From Family Guy To Learn British Accent In The Hustle

Anne Hathaway Used Stewie From Family Guy To Learn British Accent In The Hustle

The Hustle stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson as a pair of competing con artists. It's actually the third version of the story that first began with 1964's Bedtime Story and was followed by 1988's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

In both of the previous iteration, the part of the high class con artist was played by a British actor, David Niven in the original, and Michael Caine in the first remake. In the new movie, American Hathaway has the role, but she plays a British character, which meant she needed to put on an accent.

The actress says she wasn't all that excited about the accent because she was afraid of doing it badly, but then she hit on an idea. What if the accent wasn't real, even within the story? Hathaway says she found influences for her accent in many places, but most strangely, Seth MacFarlane's performance as Stewie on Family Guy. According to Hathaway...

I thought, 'OK, maybe my character isn't necessarily British.’ She's a con woman. Maybe she's just decided that she's British and she sounds British. So I thought, 'What would be her main influences.' I really love Joanna Lumley from Absolutely Fabulous and it would've been such a shame not to put a little Julie Andrews in there, so I put a little Julie Andrews in there. But mainly it was Stewie from Family Guy.

A bad accent in movies is one of those things that tends to get actors raked over the coals when they're bad so it's not shocking, and a little refreshing, that Anne Hathaway was concerned about that from the beginning. She tells GMA that she didn't want to use an accent at all, but director Chris Addison insisted on it.

The idea that the accent in The Hustle might be fake, as the character Josephine Chesterfield is a con artist who might want people to believe she's British when that's not the case, is an interesting idea. It also, not coincidentally I'm guessing, gives the actress an out if people tell her the accent isn't very good.

However, Anne Hathaway says that the British press are actually complimenting her accent, so apparently it all worked out.

It's certainly not shocking that Julie Andrews was an influence on Anne Hathaway's accent. The two have been co-stars before after all. The Family Guy connection is, of course, a little bit more bizarre. Although, since Seth MacFarlane isn't British either, using a fake accent to create your own fake accent maybe makes a bit more sense.

Check out Anne Hathaway's complete comments in the clip below.

Anne Hathaway's accent may be great, but it may not be enough to save the film, It's being hammered by critics at the moment. We'll have to wait and see how it fairs at the box office.

Rumor: Lady Gaga Allegedly Loved Her Star Is Born Role So Much She's Having Trouble Letting Go

Rumor: Lady Gaga Allegedly Loved Her Star Is Born Role So Much She's Having Trouble Letting Go

It was a whirlwind Awards Season, as 2018's top movies competed for various accolades from the filmmaking community. One of the projects that picked up a ton of nominations was Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, A Star Is Born. The musical drama was a massive success, earning money at the box office, topping the music charts, and earning a whopping eight Academy Award nominations-- even earning one. It was also a breakthrough for Lady Gaga, who became a bonafide leading lady.

Lady Gaga got a ton of positive attention and nominations for playing unknown singer Ally, and it should be fascinating to see how her acting career continues on. But a new rumor indicates she's having a hard time letting go of Ally Maine, after living as the character during filming and press for A Star Is Born. This report indicates the singer/actress is still a well of emotion, and is therefore struggling to leave her Oscar nominated role behind her.

This rumor comes via Us Magazine, which also reported on the "insane chemistry" that Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper share on the screen and stage. While that connection is no doubt what helped bring Jackson and Ally's love story to life in A Star Is Born, it also fueled the fire of the rumor mills. And that fire got considerably larger after the duo performed the film's anthem "Shallow" during the Oscars.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga walked from the audience directly onto the Academy Awards stage, and belted out "Shallow" for the audience, breaking the internet in the process. The chemistry between the two was palpable, and it even looked like they might kiss when sharing a microphone. Rumors began swirling about the two's personal lives, although Gaga put the to rest on a Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance.

Lady Gaga appeared on Kimmel, complete with the Oscar she won for Best Original Song. When discussing her Oscars duet with Bradley Cooper and the rumors that followed, Gaga said:

Social media, quite frankly, is the toilet of the internet. And what it has done to pop culture is just abysmal. Yes, people saw love and guess what? That’s what we wanted you to see. This is a love song, 'Shallow'. A Star Is Born is a love story.

That seemed to put the story to bed, or at least it was Lady Gaga's attempt to do so. Because now more rumors are circulating about Gaga and her A Star Is Born director/co-star. And once again, it relates to the chemistry shared between the two professionals. While Bradley Cooper has had a long acting career, it's still the early stages for Gaga. As such, the reports indicate that she's having a harder time letting go of Ally, after spending so much time with her. And that includes the character's love for her fictional husband Jackson.

A Star Is Born is available for home purchase now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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.

Sean Gunn Is Down To Join James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad

Sean Gunn Is Down To Join James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Three has been a massive success, as every single blockbuster has been a critical and box office hit. But there has been some controversy, namely James Gunn's departure from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Disney parted ways with Gunn over controversial tweets from a decade ago, and Guardians 3 was put on indefinite hold. But the director has already found his next project, pivoting to DC for The Suicide Squad.

James Gunn has a list of frequent collaborators, including Michael Rooker and his brother Sean Gunn. Sean Gunn plays Kraglin in the Guardians franchise, while also doing the motion capture acting for Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon. So could he also have a role in The Suicide Squad? It seems he'd be down to join the developing project, recently saying:

It's interesting to me as an artist. It's even more interesting as a brother. My brother and I have worked together in many capacities, since we were kids. If he wants me to do something, I will do it.

Well, that's going to make fans of the Gunn brothers very happy. While there doesn't seem to be any concrete plans to include Sean Gunn in The Suicide Squad, the Gilmore Girls alum is down to join the project if his director brother needs him.

Sean Gunn's willingness to join The Suicide Squad is very exciting, although it seems that the villain-centric DC blockbuster is still in the early stages of development. Being related to the writer/director would presumably grant Sean with access to early information, including information regarding a possible role. News about James Gunn's involvement and new vision have only begun trickling out, so smart money says its too early to nail down something like a part for his brother.

In his same conversation with The Hollywood Reporter at the Captain Marvel premiere, Sean Gunn also explained how James Gunn puts the narrative first, so he won't be included in The Suicide Squad unless it makes sense. He said:

But one of the things I respect most about him is that he's a storyteller first and foremost. So he's not going to try to cram me in there if I don't belong. If he has a part for me, I'd be happy to go do it, but we also have our separate careers and I'm doing my own thing as well, so we'll just see what happens there.

Sean Gunn may be a frequent collaborator with his brother James, but that doesn't mean the filmmaker will put him in a project for no reason. There has to be a character that fits and properly moves the story forward. But they've clearly got a great working relationship, as Sean Gunn has appeared in the following projects by James Gunn: The Specials, Super, The Belko Experiment, and the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

While it's unclear if Kraglin will appear, Sean Gunn's contributions as the on set Rocket will be seen onscreen when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Robert Pattinson Is Apparently Saying Nice Things About The Twilight Movies Now

Robert Pattinson Is Apparently Saying Nice Things About The Twilight Movies Now

While Robert Pattinson has gradually shifted to working on independent and less flashy movies, he’ll arguably always be best known for playing Edward in the Twilight film series. Although these romance fantasy tales made a lot of money at the box office over their five-year run, critically they earned mixed-negative reception, and for a while Pattinson wasn’t fond of thinking back on his time working on the franchise. However, lately he’s been kinder towards the Twilight movies, recently noting that their soundtracks in particular stand out compared to other movies from that period. Pattinson said:

[I watched part of The Twilight Saga: New Moon] just the other day, and it genuinely does have an incredibly good soundtrack. I completely forgot, but the soundtracks were quite ahead of their time.

Music is an integral component to filmmaking, so even if a movie isn’t received well, there’s always the chance its tunes are enjoyable. Some movies get by with just a traditional score, but the Twilight movies were also accompanied by songs that were performed by a variety of artists/bands, with New Moon’s soundtrack including numbers like “Meet Me on the Equinox” by Death Cab for Cutie and “Possibility” by Lykke Li. In the years since the Twilight film series wrapped up, there have been other movies that, while not necessarily ranking high on the critical scale, have drawn attention for their fun soundtracks, such as the Fifty Shades trilogy.

Along with complimenting the soundtracks for the five Twilight movies, Robert Pattinson also noted that he’s fascinated by younger people who missed the initial Twilight craze and are now discovering these stories and appreciating them. As he put it:

It seems like with younger people in their late teens, early 20s, it's sort of become quite a hip thing to like. It's a fascinating second wave of people appreciating it, which is kind of cool. I think when anything becomes a massive phenomenon, there's always people who get annoyed because it's just everywhere. But now it seems like a retro thing: the soundtrack, the fashion. It's like, 'Oh, that's so late 2000s.'

Wow, now I feel old. It seems like it was just yesterday that the first Twilight trailer came out and people were wondering how the movie was going to compare to the Stephenie Meyer novel. In any case, while the Twilight movies weren’t critical powerhouses, clearly the movies have staying power. As far as why Robert Pattinson is being kinder to the Twilight franchise, the actor also noted during his interview with USA Today that it helps that the “mania is not so intense,” so now he can appreciate the “warm memories.” And hey, even if he never re-watches these movies in their entirety again, at least he’s willing to re-listen to their songs.

Although the possibility of Twilight being rebooted has been periodically discussed, for now, that franchise remains wrapped up. Robert Pattinson, however can currently be seen playing Monte in High Life, and his other movies scheduled for this year include The Lighthouse, The King and Waiting for the Barbarians.