From my decades of movie-watching, I’ve learned many things. One of those is that if you have a group of rowdy young people with limited or no supervision, terrible things happen. I’ve seen Lord of the Flies. I’ve seen Battle Royale. This is just the way shit goes. And that’s what happens in the upcoming film, Voyagers, except this time it’s in outer space.
Featuring an intriguing cast of Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead, Colin Farrell, Chanté Adams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Viveik Kalra, Archie Madekwe, Quintessa Swindell, and Madison Hu, Voyagers centers on a group of specially-bred young men and women who are set into space to colonize a distant planet and secure the future of all humanity. Of course, you put this many young people together and shit starts to get primitive real quick.
Voyagers was originally to open last November, but will now arrive on April 9th via Lionsgate.
With the future of the human race at stake, a group of young men and women, bred for intelligence and obedience, embark on an expedition to colonize a distant planet. But when they uncover disturbing secrets about the mission, they defy their training and begin to explore their most primitive natures. As life on the ship descends into chaos, they’re consumed by fear, lust, and the insatiable hunger for power.
Kevin Hart is starting to branch out a little bit away from comedy, and into dramas like Paul Weitz’s Fatherhood, and action flicks The Man from Toronto and Borderlands. But making people laugh, even in those films, is always close at hand, and Hart is reteaming with his Night School writer John Hamburg for a new comedy at Netflix titled Me Time.
THR reports Hart will star in Me Time, which Hamburg will produce, write, and direct. The story finds Hart as “a stay-at-home dad who finds himself with some ‘me time’ for the first time in years while his wife and kids are away. He reconnects with his former best friend for a wild weekend that nearly upends his life.”
If Hart is playing the straight-man here, then expect another comedian to be cast opposite him. This is a perfect spot to put some shine on a rising star with a flashy role, similar to the parts Hart played that turned him into an A-list leading man.
So one of the funniest scenes of Thor: Ragnarok had Matt Damon playing Loki in a stage play that made the trickster god look rather heroic. We know that Damon is back for Thor: Love and Thunder to play a similar role, joined by Luke Hemsworth and Sam Neill, the latter back playing a mock Odin. And now we know they’ll have a superstar actress alongside them in the role of Hela, and it’s someone we probably would never expect to see in the MCU.
According to set photos captured by Daily Mail, Melissa McCarthy will be play-acting as Hela in Thor: Love and Thunder. This is all meant to be extremely silly, of course, but it’s also a cool way to recap events from Ragnarok if that’s what Taika Waititi is doing. The below photos also show Luke Hemsworth, who is obviously star Chris Hemsworth’s bro, play-acting as Thor. Fun stuff.
Thor: Love and Thunder opens May 6th 2022. Interesting, McCarthy will be playing an actual superhero in the upcoming Netflix film, Thunder Force.
Melissa McCarthy as Fake Hela in Thor: Love and Thunder
Sadly for fans of the director, all of the #RestoreTheSnyderverse hashtags won’t amount to a continuation of his vision beyond Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The 4-hour film, which hits HBO Max in a couple weeks, gives Snyder the chance to make the version as he always wanted to. However, since he always intended for this to be just the beginning of a larger story, it also ends without a true resolution.
Speaking with IGN, Snyder says his Justice League ends on a big cliffhanger to a sequel that would’ve taken place in the post-apocalyptic “Knightmare” world we’ve seen visions of…
“What inspired [Joker’s] look was the sort of post-apocalyptic world that I’m a huge fan of and, really, the idea was that as the movies progressed, the next movie – if there ever was one, and it doesn’t seem like there ever will be – but if there was, it would exist primarily in that world with them trying to set it right,” explained Snyder. “[The sequence] doesn’t overstay its welcome but it definitely does what I needed it to do for the story and for us. Beyond that I think it’s a spoiler.”
“Well, [the original ‘Justice League’ plan] was meant to be two more movies… [The Snyder Cut] hints, as you would, at a potential other world. I’d plant the seeds as I had wanted to of what would come in the later films, so that’s in there, but as far as those stories that would be to come — if ever that happened, which it does not look like it would — but I think it’s easy to speculate based on that and we can talk about that for quite a while.”
Snyder added, “The movie ends in a massive cliffhanger.”
This shouldn’t come as any real surprise. We know that only one new sequence was filmed for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, with the rest comprised of the hours of footage Joss Whedon cut out and refused to use.
I’ve said before that I don’t think this is the end. While we probably won’t get the cast returning for sequels directed by Snyder, there’s always the chance of seeing his story done in animated form or, and this more likely, as a comic book.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League hits HBO Max on March 18th.
Although he only had one album under his belt before an untimely death in 1997, Jeff Buckley captured the ears, and hearts, of many who continue to wonder what might have been. Hollywood has been obsessed with telling his story, as well, perhaps because of the lost potential in Buckley’s talent, or echoes of the early death of Buckley’s musician father, Tim. About a decade ago multiple films on Buckley developed all at the same time, and one of those, titled Mystery White Boy, was to star Reeve Carney. It never came to be, but now years later Carney is back in the Buckley role for an entirely new film.
Culmination Productions says it has signed Reeve Carney to play Jeff Buckley in Everybody Here Wants You. Directed by Orion Williams and penned by Dionne Jones, the film will center on Buckley’s life and career leading up to the swimming accident that took his life in 1997.
Reeve Carney as Dorian Gray in Penny Dreadful (season 1, episode 6). – Photo: Jonathan Hession/SHOWTIME – Photo ID: PennyDreadful_106_1307
Fans of Buckley will be interested in this as it has the expressed approval of the Buckley estate and his mother, Mary Guibert, who says “This will be the only official dramatization of Jeff’s story which I can promise his fans will be true to him and to his legacy. Thankfully, my determination to assemble all the right participants, no matter how long it took, is about to culminate in the best way possible.”
I’m curious whether this is essentially a retooled version of Mystery White Boy. Not only does it have the same star in Carney, but the Buckley estate backed that film as well.
The most famous biopic on Buckley remains 2012’s Greetings from Tim Buckley, which featured an acclaimed performance from Penn Badgley.
Carney is a musician and actor probably best known for his role as Dorian Gray in Penny Dreadful. He’ll be seen next in Ridley Scott’s Gucci film.
Assuming all goes well in finding a distributor, we could see Everybody Here Wants You sometime in 2022.
There may be no more reliably scary horror than the exorcism film. The thought of having one’s body and soul taken over by an evil spirit has chilled the bones of audiences for decades, and Hollywood will never stop making movies about it. The latest, titled The Seventh Day, doesn’t appear to be breaking from the mold, but at least it has Guy Pearce.
Pearce plays an expert Priest in the art of exorcism, who takes a young apprentice under his wing. Together they take on the case of a boy who has murdered his entire family, only to face personal demons of their own.
The film is written and directed by Justin P. Lange (The Dark), with a cast that includes Vadhir Derbez, Stephen Lang, Brady Jenness, Robin Bartlett, and Keith David.
The Seventh Day opens in theaters and VOD on March 26th.
Renowned exorcist Father Peter (Guy Pearce) teams up with a rookie apprentice for his first day of training. As they plunge deeper into hell on earth, the lines between good and evil blur and their own demons emerge.
I’ll say it now, for the 10,000 time…damn you COVID! Though it’s not totally unexpected and there is a small silver lining, organizers have announced that San Diego Comic Con will repeat last years decision to go virtual due to the ongoing pandemic. So, yeah…that stinks BUT there’s that silver lining I was talking about. First, the virtual con is free for all and while it doesn’t hold a candle to the event in person (or so I’m told, last year was supposed to be my first con) it’s still a chance for everyone that either can’t afford or otherwise is unable to make the trek to be in on the fun. This past year has given event coordinators a lot of time to perfect these virtual events and we’ve seen some real innovation which has, at times, resulted in some truly unique and fun events. Oh, but wait, there’s more true belivers! In addition to the virtual con there is also a smaller in-person event being planned for sometime in November. This decision gives us some insight into how industry is looking at the coming months in relation to getting back to normal. With the vaccine roll-out well underway the current projections still point to a decent percentage of people still unable to get vaccinated by July, but that gap should close by November, common sense I guess but it’s just nice to see any indication that the end is near.
The organizers clarified their reasoning in a statement:
“The past several months have taken a great toll on both families and friends, and we hope this effort is a small move toward a return to gathering as a community to not only celebrate popular art, but also friendship, education, and the enduring spirit of the fandom that is so much a part of Comic-Con”
Virtual SDCC will take place from July 23rd to July 25th, 2021. For more on this as it develops make sure to bookmark this link!
It’s interesting to me that Disney’s Asian-inspired princesses are also in the films that are the most action-heavy. It could just be cultural, as honor through combat is a central theme in many films across decades. Whatever the reason, I’m okay with it, and hope Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, an epic quest film with colorful adventure sequences, fights, and detailed representations of southeast Asia, is the first of many set in this universe.
Co-directed by Big Hero 6‘s Don Hall and Blindspotting‘s Carlos Lopez Estrada, Raya and the Last Dragon creates gorgeous, rich mythology surrounding the land of Kumandra. Once the five lands of Heart, Fang, Spine, Talon, and Tail were as one, but 500 years ago a plague known as the Druun infected the land, turning everyone and everything it touched to stone. Only the combined efforts of powerful dragons stopped it, with the last dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) gave humanity a precious gem that could repel the Druun. Sisu disappeared, the other dragons remained in stone, and the people of Heart were entrusted to protect the gem.
In the present, Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) and her father Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim) are fierce warriors and guardians of the jewel. But the land has been ripped apart by conflict, and Benja’s attempts to reunite the clans ends in disaster. The gem is destroyed, with each leader stealing a piece for themselves before the Druun reemerged and turns Benja to stone.
The story picks up six years later with Raya a battle-hardened, traveling adventurer looking for Sisu so they can put the gem back together and save the world. The problem is that Sisu isn’t all the storybooks and legends cracked her up to be. She relied on her brother and sister dragons, and now she must learn to trust Raya if they’re going to work together on this quest.
Trust is a major theme throughout Raya and the Last Dragon, and all of the characters must learn to lean on others or overcome past betrayals. For Raya, she entrusted Fang princess Namaari (Gemma Chan), a girl much like herself in almost every way, only to be betrayed, leading to the disaster she’s now trying to stop. But Sisu thinks differently. She encourages Raya to trust more, saying “You’ve got to give a little to get it.” Ironically, Sisu is too trusting, which gets her into trouble she then needs the help of others to get out of.
Fortunately, Raya and the Last Dragon is full of funny, odd heroes who join on each leg of the journey. There’s Raya’s loyal pet armadillo Tuk Tuk, because there’s always a loyal pet for every Disney Princess. The river land of Tail is where they encounter Boun, a 10-year-old shrimping boat captain; Little Noi is a baby con artist with her own army of thieving monkey henchmen, and Tong (Benedict Wong) is a fearsome but kind-hearted warrior giant.
With the Druun rampaging unchecked, everyone in this motley crew have been impacted by tragedy. There’s an undeniable somberness to their mission, as the Druun, referred to as “a plague borne of human discord”, threaten to end everything if people don’t learn to trust one another. It adds a bit of dramatic heft as these characters face their respective traumas to battle against a common enemy.
Otherwise, Raya and the Last Dragon is a sweeping, swashbuckling, and wholly original fantasy picture, with combat styles pulled from many different disciplines. Raya’s whip sword does some serious damage, but even better are the hand-to-hand fights she has with Namaari who uses a Muay Thai discipline. Between this and Mulan we’re seeing Disney really step up the legitimacy of their battle scenes.
Comically, the dynamic between Raya and Sisu is pretty similar to other Disney films, and it does feel a little bit formulaic by Mouse House standards. Tran, who has a lot more to do here than Star Wars afforded her, captures Raya’s youthful spirit but also her warrior spirit. The casting of Awkwafina as the voice of Sisu is just so spot-on, though. The actress’s self-deprecating humor is put to perfect effect as the curiously awkward dragon who needs to trust in herself as much as she does others.
Disney really outdid themselves visually, as well. While we knew the film would be inspired by southeast Asia, they went all-out in making sure each land has its own personality, from the artificial waterways of Fang and the harsh, spiky interiors of Spine, to the desert land of Tail, and the bustling marketplace of Talon.
Raya and the Last Dragon is the latest to be released through Disney+ “Premier Access” for a cost of $29.99. Much like Mulan, it’s a film that would’ve been perfect on the big screen and perhaps someday we’ll get to have that. But for the comfort of your home, the film offers plenty of sword-swinging, high-flying dragon action that the entire household can enjoy for as long as they want.
Hey look, if you aren’t caught up on WandaVisionjust back out now because these Funkos are definitely SPOILERS!
WandaVision has been full of surprises, and now Funko has decided to bring two of the biggest to life in Pop! Vinyl form! Funko has unveiled new figures for “Agnes”, played by the great Kathryn Hahn, and a new white-form Vision, as seen in the mid-credits sequence from the last episode.
Of course, we know that Agnes is actually the powerful mage Agatha Harkness, and she definitely has plans for the newly-christened Scarlet Witch. As for the white version of Vision, he’s completely emotionless in the comics and that does not bode well for him as the star of a sitcom. Sorry, Wanda!
There’s also a Chase Glow-in-the-Dark version of the Vision with a blue and black color scheme that looks pretty cool.
One more major cameo remains in the series and I’m betting Funko has something in mind for that, too.
All of these Funkos are available to preorder now. We highly recommend Entertainment Earth for your Funko Pop! buying needs! Any commission that we earn from purchases through our affiliate links goes back into the site. We are a small group and every little bit helps. Thank you so much for all of your support!
Coming soon: Marvel Studios’ WandaVision – Vision and Agatha Harkness! Keep an eye on our channels for details on where The Vision (Glow) exclusive will be heading in the U.K. & Europe. pic.twitter.com/qN5RsaEUzR
I’m going to call it now: Jupiter’s Legacy is going to be the next big thing for Netflix. The superhero series springs from the minds of comic book creators Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, one of the best pairings in all of comics. Millar is well-known as the guy behind Wanted and Kingsman, but Jupiter’s Legacy has much the same scope as Watchmen, dealing with generations of heroes that come into conflict.
The series follows the clash of ideals between older costumed heroes as they pass the torch to the next generation, who struggle to live up to their legacy. In the new teaser, we see how art from the comic informed images from the show, ending on a shot of Josh Duhamel as The Utopian, Leslie Bibb as his wife Grace Sampson, and Ben Daniels as his brother, Walter.
Also in the cast are Elena Kampouris, Andrew Horton, Mike Wade, Matt Lanter, Tenika Davis, Anna Akana, and X-Men actor Tyler Mane, with Steven S. DeKnight as showrunner.
Jupiter’s Legacy hits Netflix on May 7th.
After nearly a century of keeping mankind safe, the world’s first generation of superheroes must look to their children to continue the legacy. But tensions rise as the young superheroes, hungry to prove their worth, struggle to live up to their parents’ legendary public reputations — and exacting personal standards.
