ReelBlend #69: Rocketman Reactions And Our Game Of Thrones Finale Talk

ReelBlend #69: Rocketman Reactions And Our Game Of Thrones Finale Talk

The ReelBlend boys don’t get to record in person all that often. But when we do get together, it’s usually a passionate, energetic – and in this case, expletive-laden – episode of our regular movie-loving podcast.

ReelBlend #69 was recorded earlier this week while Sean, Jake and Kevin were together in London covering Dark Phoenix and Rocketman. Press play above and enjoy one of our liveliest episodes to date.

The episode starts with reviews, and we had two this week, from far corners of the globe. We LOVE hearing from listeners, and encourage anyone to drop us a review at ReelBlend@CinemaBlend.com. Gabe will make sure that we read them on the show.

The latest trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood dropped right before the guys started recording, so that became a hot topic of conversation.

But the biggest conversation this week was reserved for the Game of Thrones finale, which Kevin and Jake watched at 2 am London time in a bar/theater filled with GOT fans. They share that story, then the three guys get into an analysis of the finale, of the show in general, and how it stands up as one of the greatest TV shows of all time.

We know this is a movie podcast, so the guys eventually get around to reviewing Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart, and sharing stories from the Rocketman and Dark Phoenix junkets. Also, Jake says that Avengers: Endgame won’t make his year-end Top 10, and that breaks Sean’s brain.

ReelBlend is a weekly podcast that we do on CinemaBlend. You can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us.

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media! We have an official Twitter feed for the show, so follow @ReelBlend. In addition, follow the guys at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV.

Ian McDiarmid Reacts To Palpatine's Return: 'The Dark Side Is Stronger Than Ever'

Ian McDiarmid Reacts To Palpatine's Return: 'The Dark Side Is Stronger Than Ever'

Star Wars fans were in for a massive treat this week with Star Wars Celebration, a kind of convention exclusively for the Star Wars franchise. At Celebration, the cast and filmmakers of Episode IX took to the stage and finally dropped details about the movie. While there was a lot to chew on, maybe the biggest revelation was the reveal that the Emperor would be returning in the film. That's pretty huge -- and Ian McDiarmid, who played Palpatine in all the movies, had some fun teasing his return.

The first footage for Episode IX -- now forever known as The Rise of Skywalker -- was dropped during Star Wars Celebration. It's a seriously awesome trailer that showcases Rey, Finn, and Poe on a mission together (finally!), some new planets, Kylo Ren doing his thing, and the return of Lando. But Lando isn't the only original trilogy character making his comeback as the ominous laugh of Emperor Palpatine closed out the trailer.

As if that wasn't enough confirmation that old papa Palps is back, Ian McDiarmid took the stage and had the trailer play a second time. Somehow, Paplatine will once again torment the galaxy, and while fans are already cooking up their theories, McDiarmid took to Twitter to raise the hype even further.

McDiarmid has played Palpatine in all of his live-action appearances, perhaps featured the heaviest in the prequel trilogy. Now, the actor is back and he's teasing fans that the dark side is stronger than ever. Seeing as how Palpatine is THE Star Wars bad guy, that statement certainly rings true.

The reveal of Palpatine certainly must have caught plenty of fans by surprise, but when you think about it, there weren't many options available to The Rise of Skywalker for villains. After the death of Snoke, there's really no one left. Yes, there's Kylo Ren, but his story is so tied up in the will he/won't he be a good guy, that he doesn't really feel like a final boss. You can't introduce a new guy because what good would that do in the last film? So, you bring back the guy everyone knows and it becomes a lot stronger.

We're still far away from learning more details about Palpatine and the movie. Maybe he's back as a Force ghost or the First Order actually figured out a way to resurrect him. I'm sure there won't be any shortage of theories! But will those theories be any ... good?

It's still a long wait, but all the answers to our questions will be revealed when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters on December 20, 2019. To learn as much about the film as you can, be sue to check out what we know so far about the movie, which we'll continue to update as more news drops.

How Karen Gillan Elevated David Dastmalchian’s All Creatures Here Below

How Karen Gillan Elevated David Dastmalchian’s All Creatures Here Below

Although both Karen Gillan and David Dastmalchian are Marvel Cinematic Universe veterans, Nebula and Kurt’s paths haven’t crossed in this ever-expanding superhero franchise (just imagine what that would look like). Instead, the two actors finally got to work with each other through the new movie All Creatures Here Below, which Dastmalchian also wrote.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing David Dastmalchian about All Creatures Here Below and various other subjects, and right off the bat he offered effusive praise towards Karen Gillan’s performance in the movie, particularly with how she was able to fully immerse herself in her character, Ruby, who is living a troubled life with Dastmalchian’s Gensan. Dastmalchian explained:

I think [Karen] is our Daniel Day-Lewis. I really do. I feel like she’s got the ability and works very hard, but beyond just her work ethic, she’s one of the most chameleon-like talents I’ve ever witnessed firsthand, and it’s really mind-blowing what she can do with her face, her body, her voice. So the fact that she wanted to come be in our tiny, no-budget movie… the fact that she came and gave that performance, it’s so humbling. I’ll be grateful for that performance for the rest of my life that she brought that character to life so beautifully.

While she’s arguably best known for playing Nebula in the MCU, Amy Pond on Doctor Who and Ruby Roundhouse in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the actress is no stranger to more dramatic projects, and All Creatures Here Below provided her another opportunity to explore a truly dark role. Gillan had just finished work on Avengers: Endgame when she came to All Creatures Here Below, but as David Dastmalchain noted, she brought a positive attitude and great energy during her time on the much-smaller movie.

All Creatures Here Below follows Ruby and Gensan as they’re struggling to make ends meet in Los Angeles and then are forced to flee to Kansas City after committing a crime. It’s hard to go into more detail about the plot without spoiling anything, but suffice it to say that if you’re familiar with Karen Gillan’s through her fantastical work, this thriller will show you a new side of her acting chops.

As for how Karen Gillan joined All Creatures Here Below, David Dastmalchian explained that while he had seen her in a number of things beforehand, he didn’t realize she was the same person in some of those projects. When he and his team started putting All Creatures Here Below, producers wanted to pitch the role of Ruby to a “name actor,” i.e. somebody with an established name in Hollywood.

David Dastmalchian assumed an actor of that caliber wouldn’t want to join the movie, but the All Creatures Here Below script eventually made its way to Karen Gillan’s agents, and because she’d been looking for something that was “independent and really challenging and gritty,” she was game to star in the movie. One meeting with Dastmalchian and director Colin Schiffli later, and she was in.

Suffice it to say that David Dastmalchian had a great time working with Karen Gillan, calling her a “kindred spirit” and good friend. He told me that he would like to “do as many roles” with her as possible, saying that she helped him become a better actor because of her work ethic. While both actors have gone their separate ways for now, perhaps his wish will eventually come true, especially if he writes a script with a character he can only imagine her playing.

You can watch All Creatures Here Below on VOD now, and if you’re curious about what movies are headed to the big screen later this year, look through our 2019 release schedule. As for Karen Gillan and David Dastmalchian, the former’s upcoming movies include Stuber, Jumanji 3 and Call of the Wild, while the latter will be seen in Dune, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and the Hulu series Reprisal.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix International Trailer Finally Shows Us Some Cool Space Action

X-Men: Dark Phoenix International Trailer Finally Shows Us Some Cool Space Action

Thus far, the marketing for Simon Kinberg's Dark Phoenix hasn't exactly been top notch. Only two domestic trailers have been released so far, and more than anything they've brought back unfortunate memories of X-Men: The Last Stand (a.k.a. the last time this storyline was adapted). Not much has been done to show the unique elements of the new release, but fortunately we have this fresh international package filled with new footage:

It's not uncommon for there to be differences between domestic and international trailers, as we just saw another example of this a couple months ago with Jon Watt's Spider-Man: Far From Home. The difference here is that this look at Dark Phoenix is way better than the previous trailers we've seen. This is partially because of certain small details that are included, but primarily because this actually gives us a legitimate look at the X-Men's first big screen space adventure.

Previous previews have given us dribs and drabs of what to expect when the X-Men travel beyond Earth's atmosphere, but this is the first Dark Phoenix trailer to actually dedicate a significant chunk of time to the subject. Everyone aware of the movie knows it's coming, and it's expected that the incident will happen in the first act, and now we finally have a better idea of what to expect. There is a 20 second stretch in this new look that sums the whole thing up rather nicely: the X-Men travel into space to help during an emergency, however, things don't go exactly as planned, and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) gets left behind after all of the astronauts from a space station are rescued. There is a massive burst of cosmic energy that Jean seems to absorb, and while she should be dead, she instead is able to travel with the team back down to Earth. It looks surprisingly great, and it has us wondering why the marketing has kept it hidden for the most part so far.

Alongside the extended space material, this Dark Phoenix international trailer also offers some familiar stuff - such as the incident with young Jean Grey and her parents, as well as the big train lift at the end, but there is also some other cool stuff peppered in as well. For example, we're apparently getting some form of new Quicksilver sequence, as Evan Peter's character can be seen charging at Phoenix in "slow motion," and there's a bit more of Jessica Chastain's mystery character doing her very best to manipulate the extraordinarily powerful titular mutant. There is also once again heavy suggestion that the film will be the end of the line for Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique - but it's actually less obvious here than it is in the spot from last week.

This is arguably our most intriguing look at Dark Phoenix, and despite numerous past delays, we are now getting legitimately close to actually seeing the thing. Co-starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, and Kodi Smit-McPhee in addition to all the names mentioned earlier, the film will be arriving in theaters on June 7th.

Mark Hamill Loves All The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Speculation

Mark Hamill Loves All The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Speculation

Hey, remember when we were all like "Who is 'The Last Jedi?'" Good times. Star Wars fans immediately returned to speculation mode after the title of Star Wars: Episode IX was revealed to be The Rise of Skywalker.

Which Skywalkers are rising? Who is a Skywalker?

You know who loves this? Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. No stranger to trolling, Hamill must be cackling as hard as Emperor Palpatine at all the furious scrambling for answers. He seems relieved to finally be able to address the "cool title" J.J. Abrams went with for the end of the Skywalker Saga. He also helpfully added names to the Skywalker speculation list, as if he doesn't already know exactly what the script reveals:

As usual, Star Wars fans responded with some great comments and suggestions. We all have our favorite and least favorite characters and storylines, whether they carried over from the original trilogy, the prequels, or the sequels. I'm fond of this debate over Kylo/Ben Solo (Adam Driver):

Yes to slow digestion for a thousand years. I'm not sure Ben would rise from the dark just to ask Rey out -- and Daisy Ridley did tell fans The Rise of Skywalker wouldn't have another shirtless Kylo/Rey ForceTime scene. But as the son of Leia, Ben Solo does have Skywalker blood. He, Luke and Leia are the known Skywalkers at this point. The Force Awakens hinted to Rey also possibly being a Skywalker, but The Last Jedi seemed to shut that down. Seemed to, anyway. Who knows what's ahead now.

Mark Hamill openly invited speculation on his own Twitter thread, so fans replied with their own predictions. Since both Luke and apparently Palpatine are returning, despite both appearing to have died in past Saga movies, some fans are hoping for major Force ghost action ahead.

Mark Hamill was ultimately re-seduced by The Dark Side of The Force and trolled fans with this Joker/Star Wars crossover, pretending he was the cackle at the end of the trailer instead of Palpatine:

Nice try, man.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the culmination of all three trilogies, so fans are looking back to the prequels and original trilogy for hints on what characters might be involved. Director J.J. Abrams said the title of this film "had a very weird responsibility" since it had to mark the end of nine movies.

Anything goes at this point, just one day after the first teaser was revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2019. And I do mean teaser. We should expect a full official trailer to arrive later in the year. So feel free to share your own theories and prepare to revise them in the months ahead before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20. After that, there will be some kind of hiatus before the next Star Wars films rise.

Zac Efron Responds To Concerns Over Glamorizing Ted Bundy In Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

Zac Efron Responds To Concerns Over Glamorizing Ted Bundy In Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

When former Disney Channel teenage heartthrob Zac Efron signed on to play Ted Bundy, one question that may have popped up in some of our heads: “Why does Hollywood want me to be attracted to a serial killer?” If you look a little closer into the Bundy case that his new Netflix film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile is telling, Efron’s casting may just be the perfect choice.

Before Ted Bundy was sent to death row in the ‘80s for the murder of over 30 women across the United States, his good looks and charisma were exact reason why his longtime girlfriend and the public were thrown off to his heinous crimes. The upcoming movie looks to be steering away from placing Bundy’s murderous actions front and center on screen, as it tells the tale through his girlfriend Liz’s perspective (played by Lily Collins) as she learns of his vile side.

During a recent visit to The Ellen Show, Zac Efron explained that the movie will not show Ted Bundy’s actions as inviting, contrary to the film’s early controversy. In his words:

The goal was a very challenging one and I'm thrilled that it turned out the way that it did. I am not into portraying a serial killer or anybody of this nature or glamorizing them in any way ... it does not glamorize the killing. This is an important thing for people to hear.

While Zac Efron has a shiny reputation for playing likable characters (who usually can sing), this is not one of them. The actor took a deep-dive into the movie’s character study of the infamous killer and even has recently opened up about the trouble he had separating himself from the role once he was off set.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile will act as a cautionary tale to those who easily trust people because they are easy on the eyes and know how to bring out the charm. Zac Efron told Ellen why he thinks the serial killer got away with so many crimes between 1974 and 1978 with these words:

Ted Bundy was a clean-cut, white dude, white person, so talk about white privilege. What he got away with back then, nobody would be able to do today.

The actor also touched on how this movie is perfect for the “world of swipe left and swipe right” many of us live in. So “hot Ted Bundy” is very much intentional and may challenge the ways in which we pass judgement on the people who commit crimes or don’t.

After premiering at Sundance earlier this year, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile was purchased by Netflix for $9 million and will hit the streaming site this Friday, May 3.

Jared Leto Explains Why He’s So Excited To Play A Vampire In Morbius

Jared Leto Explains Why He’s So Excited To Play A Vampire In Morbius

Although Jared Leto’s return to the DCEU as The Joker may is looking slim these days, with Joaquin Phoenix soon taking on the role in a standalone movie, the actor will be playing a comic book villain on the Marvel side. Following the massive success of Sony’s first Spider-Verse installment, Venom, Leto will star as anti-hero Morbius the Living Vampire.

In the midst of filming Morbius in London ahead of the title’s summer 2020 release date, Jared Leto has shared why playing a vampire has always been an interest of his with these words:

When I was a kid, I remember being at my grandmother’s house in Louisiana and the original OG would come on and just being pretty transfixed as some many of us were when we saw that. And then the Anne Rice era was big for my brother and I. We passed those books around to each other.

During his childhood, Jared Leto loved watching classic vampire movies, perhaps including 1931's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. He was also an avid reader of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles novels, which were adapted to film in the form of 1994’s Interview with the Vampire and 2002’s Queen of the Damned.

The actor also cited Gary Oldman’s Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stroker’s Dracula from 1992 as a favorite, along with fellow vampire films The Hunger and Thirst. In the Variety interview, he did admit to skipping over Hollywood’s last popular vampire franchise, the Twilight movies, because he was “just too damn old.”

Morbius is a villain who popped up in the Spider-Man comic books in the ‘70s. He was originally Dr. Michael Morbius, a biochemist who attempts to cure his rare blood condition by using a serum made of vampire bat DNA. The treatment results in Morbius taking on traits of a vampire such as having bloodthirst, an aversion to light, super strength, super speed and healing abilities.

The film will also star Adria Arjona from Triple Frontier as Martine Bancroft, who is his fiancée in the comics. Doctor Who’s Matt Smith as the film’s villain, Loxias Crown, who is Morbius’ best friend and also suffers from the same blood disease. Jared Harris will play a mentor to Morbius and Tyrese Gibson will play an FBI agent on the vampire’s blood red trail.

Morbius is the beginning of Sony’s big plans to create their own Marvel universe based on Spider-Man characters. Following the success of the MCU from Disney and Warner Bros’ DCEU, the rival studio wants to use its Marvel rights to their full potential and reportedly has the next eight years mapped out with Spider-Verse movies and television shows underway.

Jared Leto’s vampire character is set to hit theaters on July 31, 2020. Are you excited to see him take on his next villainous role this time from Marvel? Sound off in the comments below.