Back in January, rumors swirled that Marvel and Netflix fell in love with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher from “Daredevil” season 2, that they were mulling ordering a spinoff for the vigilante. Nearly 4 months later, it’s become official.
Entertainment Weekly broke the news this morning that Netflix has ordered “Marvel’s The Punisher” to series, which was confirmed by both Marvel and Netflix shortly after.
The news breaks just about 6 weeks after Bernthal’s Frank Castle debuted in “Marvel’s Daredevil” season 2, and audiences took to the character immediately.
Bernthal will obviously reprise the role, while “Hannibal” scribe Steve Lightfoot will serve as showrunner.
“Marvel’s The Punisher” teaser image, via Marvel’s Twitter Page
“The Punisher” marks the sixth collaboration between Marvel and Netflix, after “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” and the impending “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist,” and “The Defenders” (no word yet as to whether Punisher will appear in the team up series).
Keep an eye out for “Marvel’s The Punisher” sometime in 2017. As for the rest of Netflix’s Marvel slate: “Daredevil” recently bowed for season 2 in mid-March, “Jessica Jones” premiered in November and has been ordered for a second season, “Marvel’s Luke Cage” hit Netflix September 30 of this year, “Marvel’s Iron Fist” is currently in production, and “Marvel’s The Defenders” is rumored to begin filming at the end of the year.
Featured Image: Marvel Entertainment’s Official Twitter Page
That appears to be the case, as an interview recently surfaced on Variety with “Thrones” showrunners Dave Benioff and D.B. Weiss, in which the say the hit fantasy series may only have 13 hours left of story to tell.
“I thin we’re down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We’re heading into the final lap,” notes Benioff in the Variety interview. A final 13 episodes will reportedly be spread over two abbreviated seasons, with a seven episode season 7 and a six episode eighth and final season. “Thrones” seasons typically log 10 episodes, so if this report is true, the upcoming sixth season will be the last one featuring 10 episodes.
Sources close to HBO, the network on which “Thrones” airs, have said that these specific numbers have not been determined, and talks are just beginning to commence about the showrunners’ plans for future seasons.
The idea of “Game of Thrones” ending after season eight has been a long existing rumor, and with that season coming closer, it appears those rumors may be coming true. The president of programming at HBO, Michael Lombardo, has said “it will be interesting to see how strongly they feel about being definitive about [abbreviated future seasons] when we are in a position to announce seasons 7 and 8.”
“Game of Thrones” returns for a full, ten episode season 6 on April 24 on HBO.
Tuesday night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Benedict Cumberbatch dropped in to chat with the late night host, and he shared the first teaser trailer for his upcoming Marvel film “Dr. Strange.”
“Dr. Strange” is Marvel’s first foray into the weird world of magic, and introduces the Sorcerer Supreme. From the comics, Dr. Stephen Strange was a brilliant, albeit arrogant neurosurgeon, until a horrific car crash mangled his hands, rendering him unable to perform surgery. While searching for a cure for his hands, he comes across the Ancient One and trains in the art of magic, on his way to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme.
Without as many words, the this first trailer gets across the main message. The trailer features plenty of the ‘Batch as Strange both pre and post accident, as well as doses of Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s villain Baron Mordo, and a brief glimpse at Rachel McAdams’ as-yet-unnamed nurse.
This first look at the film also shows things getting weird, as rooms and cities are transformed and spun every which way, as the trailer tells audiences to “Open Your Mind” and “Change Your Reality.”
“Dr. Strange” hits US theaters on November 4, 2016.
Trailer (above) via Marvel Entertainment’s Official YouTube Page.
April 12th marked the world premier of “Captain America: Civil War” at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Benedict Cumberbatch swung by “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and brought with him the first trailer for Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” (see HERE). And also, Sony announced the name of their first standalone film with new Spider-Man Tom Holland.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman revealed the title of the film at CinemaCon in Las Vegas yesterday, along with footage from “Homecoming” which featured Holland as Peter Parker, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, and Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark.
Yes. Tony Stark.
Rothman elaborated on the title, saying “Homecoming” refers to both Peter Parker’s high school age, and said that “Peter is trying to find his way home,” whatever exactly that means. He’s also coming home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I digress.
If the number of Spider-Man reboots in recent years, and having never been included in other Marvel films has some people puzzled, let me clear that up. Previously, Sony Pictures had exclusive rights to Spider-Man films, keeping him away from Iron Man, Cap, and the rest of the Avengers.
Photo Cred: Forbes
After the not-so-successful “Amazing Spider-Man” franchise, Sony and Marvel Studios struck up a deal, working together on future Spider-Man projects. In the deal, the character is still owned by Sony, but he can appear in Marvel movies (such as “Civil War”) and other Marvel characters can appear in solo Spidey movies (i.e. Tony Stark).
The announcement comes more as a confirmation as opposed to breaking news, as rumors flew last week alleging Sony registered the domain name SpiderManHomecomingTheMovie.com.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” hits theaters on July 17, 2017, but until then you can see Holland’s character in “Captain America: Civil War,” in theaters on May 6.
That’s what the Lannister half-man proclaims at the end of the second trailer for “Game of Thrones” season 6, premiering April 24 on HBO.
The trailer, which features showdowns between Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and the High Sparrow, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and leaders in Meereen (now missing one Khalessi), Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) suffering at the hands of a Dothraki horde, and Daavos (Liam Cunningham) preparing to fight the nights watch in the presence of the corpse of the dead Jon Snow.
Other points of interest from the trailer include glimpses of Bran Stark, last seen at the end of season 4 having just found the three-eyed raven (now played by the legendary Max von Sydow), Arya learning to become no one at the House of Black and White, and Sansa discussing everything she has lost (as we see Walder Frey presiding over a room full of Freys). And with everyone in the seven kingdoms preparing to fight each other, Daavos warns “the dead are coming” and we see the Night’s King and more White Walkers preparing for battle.
“Game of Thrones” returns for season 6 at 9PM on HBO on April 24
Trailer (above) via the official “Game of Thrones” YouTube Page.
Feature Image: Slash Film
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post said the footage of Walder Frey was from episode 9 of season 3 “The Rains of Castamere.” This was incorrect.
On Sunday night at the MTV Movie Awards, DC revealed the third trailer for the much anticipated third movie in their Expanded Universe (and first potentially good one) in “Suicide Squad,” entering theaters this coming August.
Now, the DCEU is kind of a mess. “Man of Steel,” the beast that launched all of this, was mediocre and comically inaccurate. And “Batman v Superman” has it’s plethora of problems: from a bad script, to a bad director, to the many bad reviews (including mine HERE), to losing the top spot at the weekend box office to a Melissa McCarthy movie with a worse Rotten Tomatoes score.
Suffice it to say, “Suicide Squad” has a lot riding on it. And while I’m slightly more cautious about this now than I was before, “Suicide Squad” should begin to right the ship that is the DC Expanded Universe.
Key word: Should.
This third trailer, set to a You Don’t Own Me/Ballroom Blitz medley, initially starts on the wrong foot, implying the squad is a reaction to the emergence of Superman, but the mainly Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) led-trailer quickly gets back on track, offering more glimpses at El Diablo, Killer Croc, Will Smith’s Deadshot, and Jared Leto’s Joker (who is going to be incredible).
The trailer comes amid reports that DC and Warner Brothers have begun reshoots to make the movie “funnier“, in response to the negative reviews of “Batman v Superman” being too dark and brooding. But that wasn’t the issue with “BvS.” Yes, it was too dark and too brooding, but the issue with that film was a bad script with no story, and an even worse director in Zack Snyder, who somehow has still not been fired from the DCEU, with filming on “Justice League: Part One” scheduled to start today.
Starting reshoots on this movie to correct the problems of another movie is nowhere near a good sign, and even though Zack Snyder screwed up an overall lackluster movie that had incredible potential, Warner Brothers needs to remove their hands from the dirt and trust that David Ayer knows how to make “Suicide Squad” a success. I think he will.
“Suicide Squad” comes to US theaters on August 5, 2016.
Trailer (above) via JoBlo Movie Trailers YouTube Page.
This morning on Good Morning America, Disney revealed the trailer for the much anticipated “Star Wars” spinoff, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” coming to theaters this December.
Set in the time between “A New Hope” and “Revenge of the Sith,” “Rogue One” centers on the Rebel Alliance, and the team ultimately responsible for stealing the Death Star schematics, lead by Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”).
The trailer heavily features Jones’ Erso who, as described by Mon Mothma from “Return of the Jedi” as “reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined.” The trailer also features Diego Luna’s as-yet-unnamed Rebel soldier, Ben Mendelsohn’s Imperial admiral, rumored to be the main villain, and also shows glimpses of Forest Whitaker and Donnie Yen in their mysterious roles.
Other points of interest include a new look at Yavin IV’s Rebel base, a band of rebels captured by Imperial Stormtroopers, Jones, Luna, and an unidentified droid (presumably the CGI character voiced by Alan Tudyk) being chased by a hoard of stormtroopers inside what appears to be an Imperial base, possibly the Death Star itself, and a climactic jungle/beachfront battle between rebel soldiers and Imperial AT-ATs.
The trailer was released amid rumors that Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin from “A New Hope” may be digitally resurrected to appear in the film, along with rumors that “Star Wars” big bad Darth Vader will have a semi-impactful role in this film.
Expect promotion for “Rogue One” to ramp up in the coming weeks and months, as Disney preps to officially launch their “Star Wars” anthology film series, starting this film and continuing with the Han Solo origin film slated for 2018.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” enters theaters on December 16, 2016 in the United States.
Trailer (above) via the official “Star Wars” YouTube page.
About a year ago, I wrote an article titled Preemptive Strike: “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (read HERE). Essentially, I spent about 1,000 words eviscerating this then-upcoming film, based on a singular 2 minute trailer. I made claims of DC copying Marvel. I attacked the name of the film. I attacked Ben Affleck’s Superman fighting Batsuit. I went after Jesse Eisenberg and Zack Snyder, and the size of the film itself.
I’ll admit, I may have been a bit immature, and showed a bit of a bias in there, but that doesn’t mean I was wrong.
The basis of my original argument, more or less, held true. And, contrary to what some believe, I do wish for the DC Expanded Universe to be good. Batman is my favorite hero, Marvel or DC, and as a fan I appreciate the cinematic history here, and I really, truly hoped I would be wrong. I really, truly hoped this movie would be good.
But it wasn’t. (Some spoilers from here on out, although the trailers basically showed the whole movie).
Photo Cred: Collider
One of “Batman v Superman”‘s largest problems lies in the plot, or lack thereof. After the, rather unnecessary, five minute opening sequence again showing the murder of the Wayne parents, we join Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne in Metropolis in the middle of “Man of Steel”‘s third act battle between Superman (Henry Cavill) and Zod (Michael Shannon). A Wayne Enterprises building becomes a part of the wreckage, and some people who worked for Wayne were killed, mainly because they didn’t evacuate the building until Wayne gave them the OK, even though they could clearly see the city being destroyed around them.
Thus begins Bruce Wayne’s vendetta against Superman. And thus ends the only true plot point in the film. From here out Bruce Wayne indulges in some pretty mediocre sleuthing for the world’s greatest detective, which involves stealing some files from Lex Luthor without discretion, leading to Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) coming out of no where and stealing Wayne’s stolen file.
Yeah..
While all this is going on, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is around, and he hates Superman. Why you ask? No idea. That answer is never made clear. Lex spends his time either trying to frame Superman for crimes (such as blowing up the Capitol building), or trying to kill him (by pitting him against Batman).
Yes, the titular battle, hyped for over two years between Gotham’s Dark Knight and an alien from a destroyed planet, was orchestrated by Lex Luthor. How you ask? Well it’s simple. Luthor kidnapped Martha Kent (Diane Lane) and basically said to Superman “Go kill Batman, or I’ll kill your mother.”
A battle Batman is fully prepared for, as he stole a big slab of Kryptonite from Luthor, killing people along the way. Yes, Ben Affleck’s Batman kills people, a practice that goes against everything Batman has stood for throughout the character’s history.
And that’s basically it. Without spoiling the last few details, the fight only last for about 7 of the film’s 151 minutes, and ends on an incredibly bland note. After that, Doomsday (created by Luthor using Zod’s body) shows up, Wonder Woman suits up (again, out of no where), and the movie ends. Thrilling.
Ben Affleck as Batman (Photo Cred: Batman-News)
While the plot, more or less, made very little sense, Batman v Superman‘s biggest problem is that it had too much going on at once. You’re dealing with introducing Batman (and his origin story, which had been said to not be included), you’re introducing Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Alfred. You’re fitting in forced and unsubtle cameos for Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). You have Batman trying to kill Superman, Lex Luthor trying to kill Superman. Oh and don’t forget Superman going out of his way to save Lois Lane, and remain apathetic to the devastation his actions cause around him.
Now, the sheer number of characters alone should have been alarming enough – it was for me. I’m all for DC Comics and Warner Brothers developing a film universe of their own. It’s great for comic fans! To have both Marvel’s Avengers and DC’s Justice League comic lines adapted on screen is fantastic. The issue, however, is that DC is trying to play catch up to Marvel in this one film. Marvel has developed their cinematic universe over the course of eight years. In those same eight years, DC has only produced 1 comic book movie toward a universe of their own (before “BvS”). I applaud DC for taking a different route with their films, opting to go for the team-up ensemble and then splitting into solo films, but introducing 5 heroes in one film (3 were cameos, but still) is a little sloppy.
And this all leads back to Zack Snyder. Say what you will, but he is a mediocre director. “300” was OK, “Watchmen” should have been much better, “Man of Steel” was no good, and “Batman v Superman” was only better because of Ben Affleck. Snyder is a very good visual director (and even then the CGI in this movie was shoddy), but when it comes to meaningful content and storytelling, he is severely flawed, and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” suffers because of it.
A couple more things…
Jesse Eisenberg underwhelms as Superman big bad Lex Luthor. Eisenberg plays the role too jovial, hokey, and a bit cheesy and is just annoying.
SIDE NOTE: Eisenberg originally auditioned for the role of Jimmy Olsen, a part that had just 2 minutes of screen time. So instead, Zack Snyder gave him the role of the big bad villain.
Wonder Woman had massive potential for this film, is she was utilized correctly. She came out of no where to be a thorn in Bruce Wayne’s side, without any story or introduction.
Ben Affleck was the one redeeming quality in the film. Once he is able to step away from Zack Snyder’s (mis)direction, he’s going to be a very good Batman/Bruce Wayne.
Grade: 4 of 10
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is in theaters now.
On Tuesday April 21 at their CinemaCon panel, Warner Bros. premiered the first trailer for their upcoming Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass.
The film, in theaters September 18, features Johnny Depp as the Boston gangster-turned-informant. Depp disappears into the role, almost unrecognizable. The film chronicles mobster Whitey Bulger’s rule over Boston as the head of the Irish mob, and go through the story of Bulger’s becoming an informant for the FBI to take down the Italian mafia – leading to drugs, murder, and ultimately Bulger becoming one of the FBI’s most wanted men.
Black Mass, directed by Scott Cooper, enters theaters on September 18, 2015. Will you watch? (You should). To help you decide, you can watch the Black Mass trailer, courtesy of MOVIECLIPS Trailers’ YouTube page, below:
This is the first post in a new series I’m writing called “Preemptive Strike,” where I will voice my concerns about projects yet to be released. If there is an element or multiple elements in an upcoming project I take exception to, I will air out my opinion in this series. Today, we begin with 2016’s upcoming superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Photo Cred: Wikipedia
This past Friday, thanks to the always reliable pirated leak, Warner Bros. and DC Comics were forced to release the first trailer for their upcoming superhero flick Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Now normally, I would write up a quick “Sneak Peak” and link to the trailer at the end of the piece (which I still will; see trailer below), however I have some additional thoughts I’d like to share about this movie.
In short, I hate just about every single element of this film.
Except for Ben Affleck. Unlike most everyone else on the internet, I am going to give Affleck a chance in the role (although from the looks of the trailer the poor guy had no decent material to work with). For what it’s worth, the Batman film franchise is no stranger to controversial casting. Remember Heath Ledger? Nobody was looking to give the guy from Brokeback Mountain a chance, and he turned out, in my opinion, one of the best acting performances in modern film history. Granted I’m not expecting Affleck to win an Oscar like Ledger did, but I’m still willing to see how the man does before condemning him.
Ben Affleck as Batman Photo Cred: Variety
But enough optimism, let’s get to the meat of the matter, and just why exactly Batman v Superman is going to be horrible:
First and foremost, this film, and the DC Cinematic Universe as a whole, were insanely rushed. When Marvel birthed it’s cinematic universe with 2008’s Iron Man, DC was in the middle of Christopher Nolan’s widely successful The Dark Knight trilogy. When that trilogy ended in 2012, DC obviously saw the massive popularity of Marvel’s MCU and The Avengers, so in 2013 DC decided to build an impromptu film universe off of their 2013 half-hit Man of Steel. So to start, the copying of Marvel’s interconnected film universe is beyond blatant, and as I said before, incredibly rushed.
To continue the Marvel comparison, that studio has put in the effort to introduce each of their characters correctly, either in their own solo film or in conjunction with another character’s story. DC, on the other hand, is introducing almost the entire Justice League of America in this second DCCU film, save for Superman (who has already been introduced) and Green Lantern (who has yet to be cast). Confirmed heroes in BvS are: Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and The Flash (Ezra Miller) is rumored to be introduced as well. Add in the introduction of Superman’s greatest foe Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg [more on this later]), and all the characters necessary to bring in Batman, there is already way too much going in this one film – aside from the main plot.
Which brings me to my first question: Can somebody please tell me what the hell this movie is about? I understand that at some point Batman and Superman fight about something, but what is going on that causes this battle and allows the other thousand superheroes in the film to be brought in? At this moment, we are 11 months away from the film with no real indication of a story. The trailer shows basically nothing, and the plot of the film as listed on IMDb is: “The plot is unknown.” All we have to go on is the title. So, why are Batman and Superman fighting? When will the Dawn of Justice be? What is the Dawn of Justice? If two superheroes are fighting, where even is the justice?
And while I’m on the name: Batman versus Superman: Dawn of Justice has to be one of the dumbest names for a movie ever. This title is at the top of the list, along with the 1995 Japanese cinematic classic Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla.
In regards to the alleged “epic” fight between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, all I really got from the trailer was a hero in a metal suit fighting another hero. Which, in other words, is basically DC’s way of copying Captain America: Civil War, coming to theaters just over a month after BvS. And speaking of that metal suit, Batman’s special Superman-fighting suit (Hulkbuster imitation), looks eerily similar to what a live-action LEGO Batman suit would look like. Actually, the resemblance is uncanny:
Ben Affleck as Batman (left) and LEGO Batman from ‘The LEGO Movie’ (right)
As for casting, I only have one issue: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time picturing a bald 31-year old Jesse Eisenberg, who looks 25, as a serious villain. When I think Lex Luthor, I think an older, experienced, ruthless nemesis – key word older – a la Bryan Cranston (who has already proved he can pull off the bald villain role). Eisenberg’s casting, to me, seems to be a version of Baby Looney Tunes meets DC Comics.
Even though I don’t mind Ben Affleck in the film, there is still a Batman issue. When the film was announced, and the 42-year old Affleck cast, it was revealed that the new Dark Knight would be “tired and weary and seasoned” and an experienced superhero. The new direction for the character would be lined up with its inspiration from Frank Miller’s limited comic series The Dark Knight Returns. In other words, not an origin story. However a video on Instagram surfaced seeming to show the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents, which is Batman’s origin story. Which then bring up the obvious question: if Batman v Superman isn’t a Batman origin story, then why are you showing Batman’s origin story? In a film that is already overflowing with superheroes and a million other things, why overpopulate the movie and force audiences to again sit through the murder of Wayne’s parents when you have said that the murder won’t be a part of the film? It doesn’t make any sense.
Alright, I’ve aired my grievances. It seems rather obvious that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is going to be a complete mess, which is what happens when a studio (DC) sloppily tries “to catch up to Marvel,” as the father of Marvel comics, Stan Lee, said at a Gillette shaving event. But what else can be expected when Zack Snyder is in charge of the universe? (For the record, I find Watchmen to be underrated, but that’s about it). All this being said, I still will make my way to the AMC down the street to see Batman v Superman when it comes out, however that is purely out of curiosity as to how DC will try to launch their shared universe, and to see just exactly how much of a disaster Dawn of Justice will be.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice premiers in theaters on March 25, 2016. If the film appeals to you at all, you can watch the first trailer, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures’ YouTube page, below:
Brian Leary 