George Lucas Writes Sweet Tribute To Peter Mayhew

George Lucas Writes Sweet Tribute To Peter Mayhew

Star Wars fans were saddened to learn about the recent death of Peter Mayhew, the man who brought the Wookie Chewbacca to life for the majority of the franchise. Friends and colleagues have been sharing their thoughts on the iconic actor. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars has penned his own tribute to the man where he talks about how Mayhew was discovered and placed in the film that would define his career.

According to George Lucas, finding somebody to play Chewbacca was actually quite complicated. While all Lucas was really looking for was somebody tall enough to play the part, finding that proved difficult. Eventually however, a hospital attendant named Peter Mayhew was found and Lucas cast him as soon as he saw how tall the man was. According to Lucas...

Peter was a wonderful, wonderful man. He kept his job in the hospital through the first three movies. But he fell in love with the character. And then as Star Wars grew in fame, and he started doing more festivals and public appearances, he realized he could actually make a living just off the personal appearances. He was very gentle, very sweet, very easy to get along with. He was more like a Wookie than I originally imagined a Wookie to be. Originally, I envisioned Chewie as some big ferocious beast, but Peter's Chewie wasn't really ferocious. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't ferocious. He would be your best friend until he got angry, then stand back. He was a gentle giant.

The idea that Peter Mayhew kept his job working at a hospital while also being in the biggest movie franchise of all-time is just adorable and hilarious.

While Mayhew would have a handful of other acting jobs over the course of his career, he really did just make a living being Chewbacca for the most part. It's clear he truly loved playing the character.

Mayhew hasn't played Chewbacca at all in the last couple films, with the costume being handled by Joonas Suotamo in both Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Mayhew hadn't been in the best health of late, so his passing wasn't necessarily a shock, but it was still sad news.

George Lucas' comments in THR are a wonderful tribute from the man who created Chewbacca and found the perfect person to give him life. While Lucas says he initially envisioned Chewbacca as a ferocious beast, it was Mayhew who turned him into the lovable giant he became. It's impossible to think of Chewbacca as anything else now.

Chewbacca will live on. Joonas Suotamo is set to bring the character back in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While Mayhew may never inhabit the suit again, his contribution will certainly never be forgotten.

Looks Like Michael Rooker Will Not Play King Shark In Suicide Squad 2, Y'all

Looks Like Michael Rooker Will Not Play King Shark In Suicide Squad 2, Y'all

Last week, news broke that Michael Rooker (of Yondu fame) was in talks to play King Shark in Suicide Squad 2 a.k.a. The Suicide Squad. It was an exciting possibility that would see the actor reunite with his Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. However, it looks as though Michael Rooker will not, in fact, be playing King Shark in Suicide Squad 2 as the actor recently took to social media to refute the report. Take a look:

Well, that certainly seems to be a pretty clear statement from Michael Rooker. By screenshotting the original report and captioning it as he did on his Instagram, Michael Rooker is essentially declaring that it is inaccurate and he is not in talks to play King Shark in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. So, if anyone was working on some fan art for this casting, you may want to pump the brakes.

Now, it is worth asking some questions about what this refutation could mean, because from Slither to Super to the Guardians of the Galaxy films, Michael Rooker has acted in every feature film James Gunn has directed. Therefore, it would make sense for him to join the director once again for The Suicide Squad to keep that streak going.

Also, the original report about Michael Rooker being in talks to play King Shark in The Suicide Squad didn’t come from some random person on Reddit, it came from a legitimate publication. In addition, there was an earlier report that King Shark would indeed be one of the members of the new team in the film. So what gives?

It could just be the The Wrap got it wrong (it happens) and Michael Rooker is, as he indicated, not in talks to play King Shark in the film or maybe that talks fell apart. It’s also possible that Michael Rooker is fibbing, as we’ve seemingly seen recently with Matt Smith regarding Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Or, given their working relationship, Michael Rooker is reuniting with James Gunn for The Suicide Squad, but King Shark is not the character he will be playing. David Dastmalchian is reportedly cast as Polka-Dot Man and Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher, and Idris Elba as not Deadshot, but there are presumably other characters Michael Rooker could take on in the movie.

At this point, given his fairly unambiguous social media response to news of his casting, I just wouldn’t expect Michael Rooker to play the humanoid shark in The Suicide Squad. The sequel, which has been described as something of a relaunch with only a handful of the original actors/characters returning is currently in pre-production so hopefully we’ll hear some more casting soon.

The Suicide Squad, with or without Michael Rooker, is scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 6, 2021. That’s a ways off, though, and you need to be entertained until then, so check out our 2019 release schedule to see all the movies you’ll want to check out this summer.

Yes, Zachary Levi Prefers DC To Marvel, Thank You Very Much

Yes, Zachary Levi Prefers DC To Marvel, Thank You Very Much

What started off as the MCU dominating the on-screen superhero sphere and DC playing catch up has switched up n recent years. Warner Bros has made a good case for the potential of its own universe with entries such as Wonder Woman, Aquaman and most recently with the success of Shazam!.

Zachary Levi, who played the titular hero, is one of the few actors who has played comic book characters in both the Marvel and DC film worlds. Naturally, fans are curious how working under the two mantles compare. When Levi took questions at a panel at MegaCon in Orlando, here’s what he said:

I mean I had more fun working for DC. I got to be my own superhero for DC. It was super cool. While I wasn’t able to do the first Thor, I was cast in that by Kenneth Branagh, who I think is an incredible talent… and then getting cast as Fandral the Dashing, this Lothario, swashbuckling, Douglas Fairbanks - I was like ‘this is so dope!’

This isn’t a huge surprise. The actor was given an entire hero to call his own in the DC Extended Universe. For Marvel, he revealed that he was cast to play Fandral in the first Thor movie, but was unavailable. As a result, Josh Dallas took on the role for the 2011 film and Levi took over for Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. Although he seems to have loved his character in the Thor franchise as well, it didn’t live up to its potential. He continued with these words:

We had some fun, but we didn’t really do all that much. I mean anybody who saw the movie, as you know they really didn’t really go that direction with the movie, so I really didn’t have that much to do. So I couldn’t possibly have had as much fun and by going and being my own guy who is a 14-year-old in a superhero adult body. The fun and funny, joy and heart that comes from a premise like that, that’s a fun movie!

Fandral and the Warriors Three may have been a common thread in the Thor trilogy, but they continued to be on the sidelines as the films went on and didn’t get much screen time. Levi previously expressed interest for the Thor sidekicks to get a spinoff of their own, but they were killed off in Ragnarok. After The Dark World struggled to impress Marvel fans, Levi’s Fandral didn’t even get a line in Ragnarok. His last words (or any lines for that matter) were cut from the film.

Zachary Levi even admitted his relief that Fandral didn’t make it out alive for Avengers: Infinity War, because it may not have freed his schedule for Shazam!. He said he likely would have been a sitting duck on set for three months only to be killed off then too.

When you ask Zachary Levi to compare his experiences with the two comic book franchises, his answer isn’t tough to predict or understand. His time with Marvel may have been a bit of a letdown, but it was redeemed in a big way when he took on the role of the adult Billy Batson. His Shazam! role allowed him to really show off his acting chops and play a kid in a superhero’s body. He was far from disappointed by the product since the movie was met with positive responses from critics and fans.

Zachary Levi has also pointed out how proud he is of Shazam’s attention to diversity, as it portrayed a foster home full of different identities, including Billy Batson’s bestie, Freddy, who has a disability. Due to the film’s predominantly young cast, a sequel is already being fast tracked for Shazam! at Warner Bros.

There really is no comparison for the actor given his experiences. That said, he has spoken out to fans in the past to stop pitting the two franchises against one another when Captain Marvel and Shazam! were being placed side by side at the box office and since the two heroes once shared the same title.

Why pick a side anyway? Both the comic book universes are offering something different for fans and can be appreciated in their own lights as they both continue to stack its slates with exciting releases.

All The Major Awards Bohemian Rhapsody Won

All The Major Awards Bohemian Rhapsody Won

Last year, Bohemian Rhapsody dethroned 2015’s Straight Outta Compton to become the highest grossing music biopic of all time with its $902 million worldwide box office haul. It’s no surprise a musical epic about the formation, struggles and success of Queen was a blockbuster, the British rock band is one of the most recognized acts across the globe.

The movie also found triumph stacking up a ton of distinguished accolades during award season despite average reviews from critics about the film’s “paint-by-numbers” approach to the band’s bold legacy. Overall, Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for 57 awards in over 30 ceremonies during the star-studded movie season and was decorated with 21 total wins.

Now that the gold glitter has settled from Oscar season, let’s break down some of the movie’s biggest award wins. Pro tip: Play Queen’s “We Are The Champions” as you read on:

Bohemian Rhapsody At The 2019 Golden Globes

While Bohemian Rhapsody was in award conversation from the beginning, bets weren’t high on the biopic taking the cake for award season’s highest merits until it took home some key trophies at the Golden Globes during the Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh hosted movie and television show recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press. The movie was nominated for two awards and won them both. Take a look:

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, Rami Malek

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Rami Malek offered up a transformative performance of a lifetime as rock icon Freddie Mercury, not just donning fake teeth to resemble the frontman, but replicating his mannerisms and his on-stage energy (almost shot-for-shot in the film’s final Live Aid scene). He won over Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born), Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate), Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased) and John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman).

Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for the most distinguished award of the night “Best Picture” alongside Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, Spike Lee’s BlackKklansman, Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk and Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born in the drama category over the comedy/musical category, which Green Book won for.

It was certainly a surprise win, especially since the movie has the lowest Rotten Tomato score of 61% among its fellow nominees in the 89% - 97% range. The win showed the movie was being taken seriously by voters going forward gave the movie a huge boost for the remainder of Oscar season.

Bohemian Rhapsody At the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards

A few weeks later, the movie about rock’s “Killer Queen” took the 25th SAG Awards with similar accolades then what had just won at the Golden Globes on the board for the film: recognition for Malek and the award show’s own version of “Best Picture” – “Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture”. Here’s what Bohemian Rhapsody won that night:

Outstanding Performance by an Male Actor in a Leading Role - Rami Malek

He did it again. The Mr. Robot actor even won over Christian Bale’s Dick Cheney performance, who won in the comedy Best Actor category at the Golden Globes this time around, really proving he could sweep this whole thing. The film’s other nomination went to the cast of Black Panther who made history as the first Marvel film to receive such accolade and the highest-grossing film to ever win the SAG award.

Bohemian Rhapsody At the 2019 BAFTA Awards

The Queen movie then braved the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award show at Royal Albert Hall in London with a whopping seven nominations in the running including Best Costume Design, Best Make Up/Hair, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Leading Actor and Outstanding British Film of the Year. Check out which one’s the movie won below:

Best Leading Actor - Rami Malek

Best Sound - John Casali, Tim Cavagin, Nina Hartstone, Paul Massey and John Warhurst

Once again, no other male actor could beat out Rami’s Freddie Mercury portrayal. This time the movie was also recognized for “Best Sound” for all the work that was put into creating a realistic portrayal of various Queen performances, using a mixture of Freddie’s voice, Rami’s and even an expert Queen-sounding YouTube star. This award gave Bohemian Rhapsody a leg up in one technical category going into the Oscars, though Netflix’s Roma and The Favourite primarily won over the movie in other categories.

The 2019 Academy Awards Bohemian Rhapsody Won

Then came Hollywood’s biggest night and the official cap on award season: The Oscars. Bohemian Rhapsody’s award reign opened up the hostless show with a energetic kickoff performance by Queen and new frontman Adam Lambert. The movie had five awards on the line that night. After Bohemian Rhapsody had previously not been considered as an Oscar’s favorite it's gained traction from ceremonies gave the movie a overall triumphant conclusion.

Best Performance By An Actor in Leading Role - Rami Malek

Best Achievement in Film Editing - John Ottman

Best Achievement in Sound Editing - John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing - Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, John Casali

Bohemian Rhapsody won everyone of their nominations except for Best Picture, which was now infamously given to Green Book. The film swept a lot of the Academy’s technical awards, with more nods to its use of sound and most controversially for its Film Editing, which has been since criticized for its whiplash cuts in one particular restaurant scene.

Rami Malek’s performance as Freddie Mercury is clearly the MVP of Bohemian Rhapsody, which early critics of the film still undeniably praised, even if they were bothered by other elements of the movie. Take a look at the actor’s last hurrah “Another One Bites The Dust” first Oscar win from the big night below:

What a success story Bohemian Rhapsody was! The film itself went through its own roadblocks before hitting all these milestones such as Bryan Singer’s firing as director late in the project’s filming and it received early criticism for not exploring all the facets of the band. Now looking back, Bohemian Rhapsody is a grand celebration of the late rock icon Freddie Mercury, his Queen band mates and the lasting impact of their music and story.

Upcoming Star Wars Movies: List Of Titles And Release Dates

Upcoming Star Wars Movies: List Of Titles And Release Dates

Following the release of the prequel trilogy, the Star Wars franchise stayed mostly dormant on the big screen for years... but now we may never see a dormant period for the franchise ever again. The brand was revitalized when the Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012, and nothing has been the same since the release of J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December 2015. That billion dollar blockbuster kicked off a string of stories created by the studio, one coming out every year since, and it appears that the future will see many opportunities for inventive storytellers to play in this particular sandbox. And while the latest trio of saga features may soon be coming to an end, there is still a lot of new stuff being developed - including new trilogies and so-called Star Wars Stories.

But what exactly are these projects that are currently in the works? How long do we have to wait for them? We've built this guide to specifically answer all of those questions and more, so read on and discover everything that we know so far about the Star Wars films that are in the pipeline.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

The hotly-anticipated Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker has undergone some significant behind the scenes shakeups. Initially the script for the film was written by Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson, and Colin Trevorrow was attached to direct... but that was before the death of Carrie Fisher. That tragic event unfortunately forced the filmmakers to scrap what they had been working on, and it was decided that Trevorrow would step away from the helm. Lucasfilm then hired Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams to replace him, and he then co-wrote a new script from the end of the sequel trilogy with Chris Terrio.

As is the case with all developing Star Wars projects, details about the plot and events we can expect to unfold are being kept under extreme wraps - though we certainly can infer a few things from where Star Wars: The Last Jedi ended. In their battle against the First Order, The Resistance nearly faced defeat in the last adventure, but thanks to an inspirational appearance from the legendary Luke Skywalker everything changed. Rey is now very much on her way towards full Jedi status, and Kylo Ren is the new leader of the fascist galactic system following the death of Supreme Leader Snoke. It's also been confirmed that the thought-dead Emperor Palpatine will have a certain amount of influence on the way things go down, but that's basically only because of the laugh that can be heard at the end of the film's debut trailer.

New generation stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie-Tran, Domhnall Gleeson and Lupita Nyong'o are all reprising their respective roles, and we'll also be seeing the return of Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, and Carrie Fisher (whose performance will be created with the use of archive footage and visual effects). New additions to the franchise include characters played by Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Naomi Ackie. Get the latest on Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker HERE.

Release Date: December 20, 2019

The Benioff-Weiss Star Wars Trilogy

As J.J. Abrams prepares to conclude the sequel trilogy and the legendary Star Wars saga, two new trilogies will be starting up to further expand the beloved sci-fi universe. The first of these will be the brainchild of Game of Thrones producer/writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss - who are working on the new set of blockbusters now that their hugely popular HBO series has come to an end. Nothing has been revealed in regards to what kind of story we can expect to be told in this set of features, or even what period of the vast timeline will be explored, but at the very least we do know when we will be seeing the first installment.

It has been confirmed by Disney and Lucasfilm that the debut chapter of the Benioff-Weiss Star Wars Trilogy will be the first to hit theaters following the release of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. That being said, we're still going to have to wait a minute for it, as the production of features in this franchise will be slowing down in the coming years. Not only will we no longer be seeing annual Star Wars movies, but the first of this particular branch won't be released until December 2022. From that point forward films from the universe will only be released biennially - and it hasn't been made clear if the franchise will be going back and forth between the two developing trilogies, or if one will get to play out entirely before the start of the next. Speaking of which...

First Film Release Date: December 16, 2022

Rian Johnson's Star Wars Trilogy

As mentioned above, Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker won't be using the script that was originally written by Rian Johnson, but franchise is far from done with him. Prior to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm announced that their collaboration with Johnson will continue with the development of an entire new trilogy of movies. Like the case with the Benioff-Weiss Star Wars Trilogy, it is entirely unclear at this time what this set of blockbusters will be about, when it will be set in regards to the Star Wars stories that we know, if/how it will connect to the classic films, or if it will include characters with whom we are already familiar. What we do know is that we will surely be hearing a lot more about these movies in the years to come.

When it comes to the release date, that is another major mystery. As noted below, Disney/Lucasfilm have carved out three release dates for future Star Wars movies between now and the end of 2026. And as mentioned above, what's unclear is if the plan is to have fans experience a new movie from each trilogy every other year, or if Rian Johnson's next contributions won't start until after the Benioff-Weiss films are done. It may be a minute before we have final confirmation about this, but you can be sure we'll have all of the latest details for you as they arrive here on CinemaBlend.

First Film Release Date: Unknown

December 16, 2022

December 20, 2024

December 18, 2026

Fantastic Beasts 3 Has An Official Release Date

Fantastic Beasts 3 Has An Official Release Date

The Fantastic Beasts series hasn't been setting the box office on fire in quite the same way as the Harry Potter movies did before it, but that doesn't mean the series hasn't been making money or that it doesn't have fans looking forward to the next entry. Those fans waiting on an explanation of the bomb dropped at the end of The Crimes of Grindlewald will need to wait a bit longer, as the third entry in the franchise has been given an official release date of November 12, 2021.

This puts part three a bit behind the anticipated schedule, as the first two films came out two years apart, which would have resulted in Fantastic Beasts 3 coming out in November of 2020, instead, it will come out a full year later.

It was announced a few months ago that Fantastic Beasts 3 would not go into production this summer as previously scheduled, and would instead start filming in the fall. It seems that the quick turnaround between the first two films may be getting the blame for the second film's poorer performance, and it was decided the third film needed more time to prep.

The extra year of time could be for any number of reasons. However, we can be sure that the extra year isn't happening due to any significant retooling of the franchise's planned structure. The announcement of the date posted on Pottermore also confirms that the Fantastic Beasts franchise is still part of a five-film series.

There was some question as to whether or not we would still get all five announced films in the Fantastic Beasts series after the most recent movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald, became the lowest grossing movie in the entire Wizarding World franchise. It became the first movie to do less than $200 million domestically and the first to do less than $700 million globally.

Of course, "underperforming" for a Wizarding World movie is a relative term. The movie still did over $650 million globally and was a top 10 grossing movie in 2018. If your movie is doing worse than expected and is still making hundreds of millions of dollars, you've got a good problem on your hands.

Getting a movie that will need extensive post production digital effects done in 12 months or so was clearly deemed too fast, and so the film will have a longer than normal period to do post-production work.

While fans won't want to wait for another movie, the wait is the only negative to letting the next movie have more time. The more time all aspects of the movie have to do their best work, the better it will all be, and even the fans who wish the movie was coming faster will certainly be happier with a better movie, no matter how long it takes.

The biggest issue with the delay for Fantastic Beasts 3 may have nothing to do with it, and much more to do with Ezra Miller's long gestating Flash movie. It likely delays that movie even more, though it's also a Warner Bros. production, so the studio is clearly taking that into account. The fact that we haven';t heard anything about Flash going into production earlier than expected likely means it will be delayed even more.

November 12, 2021 was an empty weekend on the release calendar, and this time frame has largely been good to the Wizarding World movies over the years. There's currently an untitled Marvel movie set for the weekend before, but since we have no idea what Marvel has planned after this year, it's anybody's guess if that movie could cause box office concerns for Fantastic Beasts 3.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grtindelwald revealed the character played by Ezra Miller to apparently be a lost Dumbledore sibling. How all of ithis is going to fit into the canon established by the Harry Potter movies we can only guess at this point, and fan theories will now have a little extra time to figure everything out.

How Shazam! Pulled Off Its Bus Rescue Scene

How Shazam! Pulled Off Its Bus Rescue Scene

If you caught the latest Shazam! trailer, you saw a cool sequence where the eponymous hero prevents a bus from crashing into the ground. It’s one of Billy Batson’s many heroic moments within his DC Extended Universe movie, but as is the case with when making a blockbuster, pulling off this scene was a difficult endeavor, one which required the occupants inside the bus to actually fall. As director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran explained:

David F. Sandberg: We bought a bunch of buses. We built a part of that overpass bridge. Our physical effects team were amazing because they built this whole rig where not only did we drive the bus through this railing, but this rig would sort of tilt the whole bus. So those guys falling through the bus, they’re actually falling through the bus.

Peter Safran: There was a big hinge mechanism on there that could take it from horizontal to vertical, the real bus. And then David had all the actors on descenders, so they were at the back of the bus, and they were dropped to the front. So it was remarkably practical for a superhero movie these days, which are so filled with VFX, there was a lot of really practical stuff that really went into that sequence.

The bus scene was among the many Shazam!-related topics discussed when David F. Sandberg and Peter Safran’s stopped by the ReelBlend podcast. As Safran noted, while it certainly would have been easy for the Shazam! VFX team to put together this sequence digitally, it’s admirable that the crew went the practical route using multiple buses and that special rig, thus making it feel more realistic. Props to the performers inside for also being good sports about being thrown from one end of the bus to another.

As the bus scene appears to unfold in the Shazam! trailer (it’s possible that the way it’s cut in the preview doesn’t exactly reflect how it happens in the actual movie), the Shazam-ified Billy Batson is shooting lighting bolts out of his hand to impress a crowd when one of his bolts hits one of the bus’ tires as it’s driving on an overpass nearby. The driver loses control and drives off the edge, but luckily Billy swoops in and catches the bus before impact. It just goes to show that if you play with lightning, you’re going to cause pandemonium on the road.

You can listen to David F. Sandberg and Peter Safran’s full interview about Shazam! on ReelBlend below!

Inspired by numerous eras of Shazam’s comic book history, Shazam! sees Billy Batson meeting the mysterious Wizard shortly after joining a new foster family and gaining the ability to become an adult superhero. With the help of Freddy Freeman, Billy will slowly get the hang of using powers like super strength, flight, hyper speed and electricity manipulation, but he’ll also have to put these powers to good use going up against the sinister Dr. Sivana, a brilliant scientist who has somehow obtained his own magical powers.

You can see Shazam! in theaters starting tomorrow evening, but don’t forget to read our review of the latest DCEU installment. You can also find out what else this superhero franchise has in the works by looking with our handy guide.