Sounds Like Sylvester Stallone Might Not Be Done With Rocky After All

Sounds Like Sylvester Stallone Might Not Be Done With Rocky After All

Sylvester Stallone seemed to retire as Rocky after Creed II, but maybe he's already rethinking that idea. Sly is at Cannes promoting Rambo V: Last Blood, and talking about his career to date. The conversation turned to Rocky Balboa, and it was noted that Stallone had said he had no immediate plans to continue with Creed. Why not? Well, that's apparently when he dropped this new idea:

I have a great idea for Rocky. He finds this fella in the country illegally and it becomes a whole thing. It’s like the magician who lost his tricks. You’ve seen everything, but what can be different? Throw him out of the country, he’s in another world.

I can't say I follow exactly where he's going with that, but if Sylvester Stallone says he has another great idea in him for Rocky, hop to it. It worked well for at least two Creed spinoff-sequels, and maybe even a third with or without Rocky. It's possible his comments to the audience, during a career retrospective talk with Didier Allouch (via Deadline), suggested a new fighter for Rocky to train in a new spinoff. No idea, but it's something to keep an eye on if Stallone wasn't just riffing and he really meant it.

Sylvester Stallone also compared the very different heroes of his two R franchises:

Rambo deals with the dark side of nature that most people live with. Rocky is different, he’s more the optimist, there’s optimism and pessimism in these two characters.

Sylvester Stallone's Rambo V: Last Blood title suggests an ending for that franchise too, but you never know. He may come up with a new idea after that movie comes out this September.

Sly already has a 40 Years Of Rocky documentary coming out, so Rocky is still very much in the spotlight after all of these years. Stallone is even still meeting new Rocky fans -- some as young as 9 -- so the franchise still has some life in it, as long as Sly has more stories to tell. But if Creed II really was the end of Rocky's story, well that's a fine ending as well. It just sounds like Sly isn't quite sure he's done.

Sylvester Stallone has a lot going on beyond Rocky and Rambo, including whatever is happening with The Expendables 4, plus his idea for where Cobra could go next. He even took time recently to weigh in on the new plans for Cliffhanger. And he also has Escape Plan: The Extractors coming to Digital/DVD/Blu-ray on July 2.

Rambo 5 opens in theaters September 20. Stay tuned for any Rocky updates if the thoughts pass from Sylvester Stallone's mind onto actual paper for a script.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Just Proved He's Still Got Conan The Barbarian Moves

Arnold Schwarzenegger Just Proved He's Still Got Conan The Barbarian Moves

If that third Conan movie ever actually happens, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be ready for it -- even at age 71.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a fascinating life so far. He started as a bodybuilder -- becoming the youngest-ever Mr. Universe with his first win at age 20 -- before becoming a Hollywood movie star, and even later governor of California. He's still active with bodybuilding, including in the annual Arnold Sports Festival. Schwarzenegger is currently at the Arnold Sports South America event, and showed that he's still got those Conan the Barbarian moves he first showed off in 1982:

Nice. Let's hope his 1980s self doesn't sniff at that and insist he would've hit the bullseye.

If you're curious to see more of the Arnold Sports action -- and Arnold's reaction to the action -- check out @ArnoldSports to watch more inspiring clips like this:

Arnold Schwarzenegger still has a big heart for the warriors of the world.

Conan the Barbarian was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's first major film roles. But his first lead was as Hercules in the 1969 film Hercules in New York. After playing Conan in the 1982 movie, he returned to that role for the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer. And then ... no third movie. Yet?

Anyway, right after his second Conan movie, his Hollywood career really took off. He landed the role of T-800 in The Terminator and went from that to Red Sonja, Commando, Predator, The Running Man, Twins, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, T2, Last Action Hero, True Lies, Junior, Eraser, Jingle All the Way, Batman & Robin, End of Days, Collateral Damage, The Expendables, and now more Terminator in Terminator 6, Dark Fate.

Phew! He made a lot of movies around those titles, too, and somehow had time to do other things -- like run for office and even host The Apprentice, briefly, after Donald Trump left.

Age is just a number, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is still relatively young at 71. I'm excited to see him back for Terminator: Dark Fate this November, and also -- hopefully -- alongside his 72-year-old buddy Sylvester Stallone for The Expendables 4. As Sly recently posted with a photo of both Arnold and Bruce Willis, they are "the last of the breed."

Not everyone loves sequels, but Arnold Schwarzenegger has definitely embraced the franchise life -- from Terminator to The Expendables. He has been trying to get a third Conan movie -- or TV series -- off the ground for a while, and recently explained why that has been such a trial.

As we wait for Terminator 6 to arrive this fall, cross our fingers for The Expendables 4, and maybe just pray for Conan the Barbarian, keep up with everything headed to the big screen this year with our 2019 movie guide.

Richard Madden As The Next James Bond? Rocketman Star On His 'Flattering' Odds

Richard Madden As The Next James Bond? Rocketman Star On His 'Flattering' Odds

Now that the new Batman has been found in the form of Robert Pattinson (probably), it's time to turn to another pop culture icon with casting rumors: James Bond. Daniel Craig is reprising the role for the final time, but that hasn't stopped people from speculating on who will pay James Bond in the next movie. One of the most popular rumors has been Richard Madden, and while the actor is flattered by the speculation, he denied being up for the part.

Ever since Daniel Craig famously said he'd rather "slit his wrists" than make another James Bond movie after the release of Spectre, rumors have run rampant about who the next Bond could be. Names have included Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hardy, and Idris Elba, but Richard Madden has become a recent favorite for the iconic spy.

Daniel Craig is evidently not slitting his wrists and will play Bond one last time in Bond 25, but after that it's anyone's game. Madden's name is once again popping up as a potential candidate, but the actor is (predictably) denying any intention to play the character.

Richard Madden might be an unfamiliar name to some, but fans will most likely recognize him from his work on Game of Thrones as Robb Stark. The actor also proved his action chops in the acclaimed BBC series Bodyguard, which helped add fuel to the James Bond fire. Madden can be seen in the upcoming Elton John biopic Rocketman, which premiered at Cannes this week to rave reviews.

Richard Madden was at Cannes this week promoting Rocketman, and it didn't take long for someone to ask him a James Bond question. One journalist told him that the odds of him playing James Bond increased 2-1, and the white suit that Madden wore on the red carpet certainly put James Bond in people's minds (via Variety). Here's what Madden said:

It’s very flattering to be involved in that conversation at all, but it’s all just talk, and I’m sure next week it’ll be someone different.

Well, he's not wrong that someone else will inevitably be the next rumor, but it's not like Richard Madden would be able to give any definitive answers if he were up for the part. However, Madden is also up for a lead role in Marvel's Eternals, which would presumably take up most of his time.

Thankfully, his Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton was there to have some fun with the situation. After Richard Madden gave his answer, Egerton starting humming the iconic James Bond theme, which got a good laugh from from Madden.

It's unclear who will play the next James Bond, but lets not put the cart before the horse. We still have to deal with Bond 25, which is slated to release in theaters on April 8, 2020. That's less than a year away, but you can keep yourself occupied with our 2019 movie release guide.

The Original 6 Avengers’ Most Defining Scenes In the MCU

The Original 6 Avengers’ Most Defining Scenes In the MCU

We’re in the endgame now. The Avengers movie we’ve been awaiting, theorizing about, obsessing over and anticipating more than any other movie for quite some time is finally coming to theaters this week. Avengers: Endgame has been marketed as the culmination of over a decade of Marvel films revolving around the core six who kicked this whole thing off. The original six Avengers also just happen to be some of the few heroes left after Thanos’ snap.

Since it's distinctly possible we’ll be saying some goodbyes to the heroes at the center of this franchise phenomenon, let’s take a trip down memory lane to the moments in the MCU that were instrumental in defining the climax we’ll soon be witnessing. Avengers Assemble!

I Am Iron Man

Iron Man kicked off the MCU back in 2008 with an unforgettable bang from Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark when he broke the superhero cardinal rule: announcing your identity… oh, and on live television. It was already a different kind of origin story about a billionaire playboy’s journey into creating his own tech to undo the damage his weapons company had created. The final moment of the film showed the new Marvel universe wouldn’t be playing the same game as Superman or Batman and making a mark of its own.

I Told You, I Don’t Want To Join Your Super Secret Boyband

After Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury makes his first appearance during the post-credit scene for Iron Man, the Avengers ringleader came back for the sequel to give Tony Stark a bit of an intervention on his recklessness midway through the film. He brings along Black Widow too on her first ever appearance in the MCU. It’s a funny scene that has Fury calling Stark out for what he’s doing wrong and helping him out on his hero work. While Stark is great at playing it off, he probably needed a dose of S.H.I.E.L.D. on his side at that moment before he had the Avengers.

If He Be Worthy

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor has certainly come a long way since having bleached eyebrows and Natalie Portman’s Jane on his arm in his 2011 origin story. The quirky action flick introduced audiences to the complicated relationship between brothers Thor and Loki, culminating in the scene where Thor stands up to his brother (who's controlling The Destroyer) by sacrificing himself in order to save the people on Earth. While he takes a pretty bad hit, it earns him the right to his iconic hammer from Odin. At the same time, it angers Loki further which later kicks off the events of The Avengers.

Peggy, I’m Gonna Need A Raincheck On That Dance

This scene gets me every. single. time. It’s the moment when Cap must force down the plane in order to save everyone while on the line with Peggy Carter. It’s also the scene that signals Steve Rogers’ ultimate sacrifice to become a hero, which he ends up needing to live with nearly 70 years later when he is dug out of some ice. As Cap’s journey continues, the past that could have been haunts him and his relationship with Peggy is an important one (even alluded to in an Endgame trailer).

I’m In The Middle Of An Interrogation

It’s crazy to imagine that just a few years ago in 2012, a showcase of female badassery such as Black Widow’s at the beginning of The Avengers was something new to be introduced on screen. Since we have Rey in Star Wars, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and so on, but I distinctly remember the way Scarlett Johansson lights up this scene in particular feeling special. It was the start of an era for action flicks and this defining scene was certainly part of it. From her snark and the skilled choreography, this is the moment when we were all sold on Black Widow.

That’s My Secret Cap, I’m Always Angry

Aside from the snap, this might just be the most iconic moment in the MCU to date. As Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye deal with the chaos attacking New York, Bruce Banner later rides up on a motorcycle to help. While the character’s fear of losing control to the “other guy” is brought up throughout the film, here he embraces it with the above line and completes the Avengers team once he Hulks out. That iconic shot of the six of them in a circle taking on the alien army showed the power of the MCU as the team was successfully brought together.

I’m Not Going To Fight You, You’re My Friend

Skipping to Captain America: Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers grapples with his past in a big way when he ends up in a showdown fight with his ol’ pal Bucky (a.k.a. Winter Soldier) in the finale of the film. A brainwashed Bucky is beating Cap up real good, but he refuses to fight with his best friend, even trying to jog his memory to help him remember. It’s a clever work of irony that the one piece of his past he can have is the person who he is at odds with. While the relationship between them never seem to feel like the ‘40s, an ounce of Bucky does come through when he saves Cap from drowning.

Did You Bring Auntie Nat?

The MCU has always struggled a bit to give Hawkeye a story arc for the audience to care about, especially when he wasn’t given a movie of his own prior and his abilities are objectively less impressive than his fellow members. Avengers: Age of Ultron helped turned that around when it was revealed that Hawkeye has a family of his own living out somewhere in a safehouse set up by Fury. His wife (Linda Cardellini) and kids surprise the other Avengers when they turn up to the house and Natasha has a cute banter with them. The scene helped to humanize Clint and get us more interested in his double life.

We’re Still Friends, Right?

Fans were divided into Team Cap and Team Iron Man in the event film Captain America: Civil War that had a bit of the old and new team of heroes fighting against each other based on principle. It will be hard to soon forget the airport battle that had Spider-Man, Ant-Man and Black Panther being featured in the mix, along with most of the original Avengers punching it out in a dynamic we’re not used to. Black Widow and Hawkeye going head-to-head was really fun, along with Cap and Spidey, but when Rhodey got hurt, it took a turn for the serious.

I Can Do This All Day

Civil War went for another unexpected match-up of hero versus hero when Iron Man and Captain America ended up getting into a heated fist fight over what should be done with Bucky, who is revealed to be the killer of Stark’s parents, but is still Cap’s old bestie. It was a heartbreaking moment to watch as the heroes who once worked side-by-side were violently going at each other until Cap pins Iron Man on the floor and walks away with Bucky as he yells “That shield doesn’t belong to you. You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield.”

Are You Thor? The God of Hammers?

After Thor: Ragnarok delivered a completely different (and welcome) side of Odinson thanks to Taika Waititi’s direction, the third Thor film also upgraded his powers as well to someone much more powerful than a big hunk with a hammer. After Hela rips out his eye and looks to be doing quite well for herself in taking over Asgard, Thor is able to see a vision of his father, who tells him that the hammer isn’t the source of his power, but a way to wield it. To “Immigrant Song,” Thor comes out with this thunderous powers and with some help from Hulk and the gang, takes down her army. His newfound powers come in handy for Thanos, but aren't quite enough…

You Should Have Gone For The Head

This scene brings us up to speed to the jaw-dropping events of Infinity War where the Avengers actually fail to stop Thanos from possessing all the Infinity Stones and wiping out half of all life in the universe. The scene when the core Avengers have to watch as heroes all around them turn to dust and they are powerless to stop it is truly one we won’t soon forget, especially since it’s so untypical for them to not save the day. The ending was a complete shock at the end of the movie, especially when they were so close to victory. It showed the Avengers are flawed and not at a place of unity.

What’s next for the Avengers? We’ll know soon when Endgame hits theaters on April 26. What are your favorite moments in the MCU so far? Let us know in the comments below!

Jordan Peele’s Terrifying Us Kicks Off SXSW With A Bold And Bloody Thrill Ride

Jordan Peele’s Terrifying Us Kicks Off SXSW With A Bold And Bloody Thrill Ride

Jordan Peele is about to embark on a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. He’s going to relaunch The Twilight Zone as a network television series, opening up new worlds of mystery and suspense. Well, his latest movie Us proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he’s the ideal storyteller to carry that baton for a new generation, spinning yarns that stimulate and devastate, while also making you think and talk about difficult subjects after the fact.

The eyes of the film community were on Austin, Texas last night as Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated follow up to Get Out opened the 2019 South By Southwest Film Festival. And it’s ironic that Us debuts at a festival named after a seminal Alfred Hitchcock work, because Peele is slowly making a claim as this generation’s Hitchcock. His command of the genre and his material is that strong, after only two films.

There’s a lot about Us I can’t reveal, for fear of deflating some of the movie’s best reveals. But if you watched the trailers and the commercials, you likely know this much. A family on vacation encounters shadow versions of themselves in the dead of night. But even that surface logline strips away a lot of the nuance of why this innocent family is being targeted. And how they put themselves in that situation in the first place.

The answers to those queries are the meat of Jordan Peele’s mystery, and that won’t be explored here. What we can discuss is the tone and approach to Us, which is far deeper into the straight-up horror genre than Get Out was. Peele’s previous Oscar winner (for Screenplay) had more, social commentary than scares, while Us coats its relevant talking points (and there are plenty) with splatters of blood.

The cast assembled by Peele revel in playing mirror images of themselves, with the normal Wilson family haunted by demented versions of themselves. And while every cast member finds ways to differentiate between the seemingly normal Wilson member and their deranged counterpart, it’s Lupita Nyong’o who steals the spotlight for her fascinating performance on both sides of the reflections of her character, Adelaide Wilson.

Though the South By Southwest Film Festival is just now getting off to its first starts, I can tell you that Us has been a movie virtually everyone has been talking about, questioning things that they saw on screen – what IS the deal with those rabbits?! – and figuring out answers that aren’t readily available until a repeat screening. I can tell you, with 100% certainty, that Us will be a different movie the second time that you watch it. And you will watch it, again and again.

Us opens in theaters on March 22. Keep following CinemaBlend as our coverage of SXSW 2019 rolls along.

The Key Ways Greta’s Script Changed To Make Isabelle Huppert A Perfect Fit

The Key Ways Greta’s Script Changed To Make Isabelle Huppert A Perfect Fit

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the film Greta**. If you have not yet seen the film, read on at your own risk!**

Over the course of Neil Jordan’s Greta, Isabelle Huppert’s titular character evolves quite a bit. When we first meet her, through the eyes of Chloe Moretz’s Francis she appears to be a lonely old woman with a lot of love to give and nobody to give it to, but developments in the plot reveal that to only be a fraction of the real story. It makes for a fun performance from a veteran star, and it should surprise few to learn that it was tailor made for Huppert – as I recently learned from the film’s writer director:

When Isabelle [Huppert] read it, and Chloe [Moretz] read it, they liked it, and we began to have a serious prospect of making it as a movie. I got out my pen and I rewrote the part for Isabelle. In the initial script she was an older Hungarian woman. And I said to Miss Huppert that we would develop all sorts of dimensions to this character.

Earlier this month I sat down with Neil Jordan during the domestic press day for Greta in Los Angeles, and one of the earliest subjects discussed during the interview was the film’s evolution. Jordan told me that he had a lot of appreciation for Ray Wright’s script when he first read it, particularly the story about a female stalker and its approach to what he called “familiar” material, but when Isabelle Huppert started to express interest he started to produce new drafts of the movie that had her very much in mind for the antagonist.

One of the key ways that Greta changed is that she became a Hungarian woman who pretends that she is French – playing specifically to Isabelle Huppert’s natural accent – but that was only the start. Based on Neil Jordan’s description, the character was originally going to be considerably older, and appear to be a lot more helpless. Having Huppert interested brought Greta’s age down, but Jordan’s version also gave her a bit more flair and charisma. He explained,

We gave her a French persona that she presents to the world. We gave her sophistication, we gave her a piano. We'd give her all sorts of stories about our life, which turn out not to be true - made her considerably younger, and gave her an elegance.

From the outside Greta appears to be an innocent woman in need of good company, but as we witness as the story unfolds that’s not really the case. Francis first meets her when she discovers Greta’s “lost” bag on the subway, and the two quickly begin a mother-daughter-esque relationship as Francis tries to help her (and it doesn’t hurt that Francis just recently lost her mom and has only just moved to New York City). Before too long, however, she realizes that the bag was planted to try and lure her in, and Greta’s obsessive personality starts to become excessively disturbing.

The key to everything in Greta is the relationship between Francis and Greta, and Neil Jordan stressed how changing the latter in new drafts of the script significantly altered their dynamic. While Ray Wright’s script had Francis primarily motivated by sympathy and a level of benevolence, the alterations that Jordan made had it so that Francis was almost entranced by the woman, and wanted to spend more time with her:

In the first script, Francis' relationship to Greta was one of the pity really. She pitied this apparently helpless woman. But in this iteration of it, Francis was kind of seduced by Greta. She's seduced by her piano playing, by her elegance, by her offer of friendship.

It’s pretty easy to imagine anyone falling into that same trap, but after watching the nightmarish results that play out in Greta, audiences may be a bit more wary.

Greta, which stars Maika Monroe, Colm Feore, and Stephen Rea in addition to Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Moretz, is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Aladdin Hit A Box Office Milestone After Dethroning An X-Men Movie

Aladdin Hit A Box Office Milestone After Dethroning An X-Men Movie

Mister Aladdin, sir, your wish came true! After the full four-day results came in, the 2019 Aladdin movie was confirmed to have cracked the top 5 Memorial Day weekend box office openings.

From Friday through Memorial Day, Aladdin made $116,805,962. That put it well past the previous #5 on the list, X-Men: Days of Future Past, which had a four-day opening of $110,576,604 in 2014. That also put Aladdin just a hair behind Fast & Furious 6. However, it was nowhere near the top three names on the Memorial Day weekend box office board -- X-Men: The Last Stand, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and #1, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Here are all of their opening weekend details.

Disney must be sighing with relief over Aladdin, which has already made close to $300 million worldwide without even counting this weekend's grosses. The 2019 Dumbo remake had a slower start, but Aladdin hit big out of the gate. Granted, it's not #1 in its second weekend. That honor is going to Godzilla: King of the Monsters. But even with competition from other new films, Aladdin is still expected to take second place over the May 31-June 2 weekend. Box Office Mojo predicts Aladdin will make about $38 million at the domestic box office this weekend, putting it at #2 ahead of Rocketman, Ma, and the #1 titles of a few weeks ago, John Wick 3 and Avengers: Endgame.

The original animated Aladdin came out in 1992, when movie prices were a lot different. But even with cheaper tickets, that movie made $504,050,219 worldwide -- split almost equally between the domestic box office and the foreign markets. The new Aladdin still has a long way to go if it wants to even come close to that take.

But fans have really embraced the 2019 Aladdin, which was not a given, enjoying new songs like Jasmine's "Speechless":

When it comes to the top Memorial Day weekends, X-Men: Days of Future Past might've lost its spot in the top 5, but X-Men: The Last Stand is still at #3, and X-Men Apocalypse is down at #12. Thanks to that track record of success, X-Men movies tend to like to open over Memorial Day weekend. X-Men: Dark Phoenix is something of an exception this year, albeit just by a couple of weeks. That movie opens this coming Friday, June 7.

Moving forward from Aladdin, Disney still has some massive potential hits ahead in 2019, including The Lion King remake, which could break the 2017 Beauty and the Beast's record for a remake opening. Stay tuned, and keep up with all of the release dates with our handy 2019 guide.