Anthony Mackie And Malcolm Spellman Both Downplay ‘Captain America 4’ News

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April 28, 2021

Is there anybody who hasn’t seen the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Or at least hasn’t heard what happens to Sam Wilson by the end of it? Probably not, so I won’t waste time with spoiler warnings; Sam Wilson is now Captain America. Finally. It took six episodes, a battle with the Flag-Smashers, and a lot of soul searching, but Steve Rogers’ wish is finally being fulfilled. So what’s next? Well, Captain America 4, right? Ummm…maybe?

We learned a Captain America 4 was in the works almost immediately after the finale ran, but Marvel Studios has yet to make any kind of official announcement. We’ve always been told not to believe anything unless it comes straight from the horse’s mouth, the horse in this case being Kevin Feige. That’s something showrunner Malcolm Spellman, the guy reportedly set to write the next Captain America film, wants fans to remember…

“Who said it? Did Kevin say it?” Spellman told Comicbook.com. “I would not put faith in anything you do not hear directly from the man himself!”

If it were to happen, though, Spellman clearly has his mind on a particular character whose story took an interesting turn: Sharon Carter, who is secretly the villainous Power Broker…

“I haven’t thought about [the characters’ futures]. I think Sharon, how villainous is she? I don’t know. Did she really hurt Sam at all in that storyline? I don’t know. [To] me, Sharon could go all the way bad, could come back. Who knows where she’s going to go? I haven’t put in a ton of thought in it. I might’ve just said too much right there.”

As for the man himself, Anthony Mackie didn’t find out about a Captain America movie from Marvel, either. The dude up the street, however, he was quite informative about it…

“I literally found out yesterday in a grocery store,” Mackie said to EW. “The checkout guy named Dwayne, a cool cat, he’s like, ‘Yo, man. Is this real?!’ I’m like, ‘I haven’t heard anything.’ That’s what I love about working for Marvel. They call you, they’re like, ‘Come to L.A. We wanna tell you what’s going on.’ So, I’m excited to see what happens, but I haven’t heard anything.”

Mackie, being the funny dude that he is, joked that his time as Cap might be VERY short-lived…

“What would be really bad is if the movie [‘Captain America 4’] starts and I get blown out of the sky.”

The funny thing is, if something like that happened the Black folk I know would probably just shake their head and say “See, I told ya so.” And then Marvel should show Isaiah Bradley saying the same thing. Of course, Marvel isn’t going to do that. I’m not going to speculate how long Mackie will be Captain America, but in the comics it’s a pretty short run for Falcon.

If Captain America 4 is indeed happening, and it probably is, it will at least be a couple of years before we see it, and I expect he’ll pop elsewhere in the MCU before then.

‘Bedrock’: Elizabeth Banks To Voice Pebbles In ‘The Flintstones’ Sequel Series

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Travis Hopson

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April 28, 2021

Are you ready for a trip back to the Stone Age? The Flintstones is arguably the most influential serialized cartoon ever, paving the way for shows like The Simpsons and South Park to even exist. It’s been a long time since anything has been done with it, but that’s about the change with Bedrock, a sequel series from Fox, Warner Bros. Animation, and Elizabeth Banks.

Variety reports that Banks has agreed to exec-produce and voice Pebbles, Fred Flintstone’s daughter, in a sequel series titled Bedrock. Set during the tough transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, the show will follow an adult Pebbles as she embarks on a new career. Her father is on the verge of retirement, presumably from the same gravel pit at Slate Rock and Gravel Company.

No other voice cast has been named at this point. I mean, who is going to voice Bamm-Bamm?

While a precocious baby throughout The Flintstones, we’ve seen Pebbles as a teen during The Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Show, and as an adult in a series of made-for-TV movies.

Banks has plenty of animation experience already, voicing characters in American Dad, Family Guy, and more. Recently, she’s been doing more directing and producing, recently helming Charlie’s Angels, and exec-producing Hulu’s Shrill.

‘Luca’ Trailer: Pixar Transports Disney+ Subscribers To The Italian Riviera This Summer

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Travis Hopson

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April 28, 2021

Pixar just earned itself another Best Animated Feature Oscar for Soul, while Onward was right there as a nominee. It’s safe to say the studio is riding as high as ever after all of these years, and already they’ve got another possible contender lined up with Luca, which transports us to the Italian Riviera for the story of a most unusual friendship.

Originally a theatrical release, the decision was made to release Luca exclusively on Disney+ for all subscribers this summer. And it’s a brilliant decision, transporting people who have been cooped up in the house to the gorgeous, picturesque Italian seaside where a young boy makes a new friend who happens to be a sea monster.

The film is directed by Enrico Casarosa, who earned an Oscar nomination for his Pixar short La Luna. Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan, Emma Berman, Marco Barricelli, and Saverio Raimondo lead the voice cast.

Luca comes to Disney+ on June 18th.

Disney and Pixar’s original feature film “Luca” is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.

‘The Tomorrow War’ Teaser: Chris Pratt Fights To Save The Future In Amazon’s Summer Sci-Fi Blockbuster

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Travis Hopson

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April 28, 2021

If you need someone to the rescue, whether it’s out in the far reaches of the galaxy, on an island overrun by dinosaurs, or in the future, Chris Pratt is your guy. This summer he stars in Amazon’s sci-fi summer blockbuster The Tomorrow War, and following yesterday’s first-look photos we now have the first actual trailer.

Chris Pratt is joined by Yvonne Strahovski, JK Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, and more in the story of soldiers from the present drafted to fight a war against alien invaders 30 years in the future.

The original title of the film was Ghost Draft, which sounds cooler to me and would’ve made just as much sense. Still, this looks pretty awesome and like Amazon Studios may have one of the summer’s biggest releases on their hands. They acquired the film from Paramount, who decided not to wait out the pandemic for a theatrical release.

Behind the camera is Chris McKay, making his live-action debut after directing The Lego Batman Movie and episodes of Robot Chicken. This is a pretty big step up.

The Tomorrow War hits Amazon Prime on July 2nd.

In The Tomorrow War, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.

Another MonsterVerse Film On The Way From ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ Director Adam Wingard
And It Might Be 'Son Of Kong'

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Travis Hopson
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April 27, 2021

Adam Wingard is suddenly a very busy man. That’s what happens when you direct Godzilla vs. Kong to $406M worldwide, a hefty sum considering there’s a pandemic going on. But with that kind of success you knew Legendary wasn’t going to just let him walk, and so they’ve got Wingard on board for more MonsterVerse flicks.

According to THR, Wingard is in talks with Legendary to do another MonsterVerse film, although we have no idea what that could be. Son of Kong, maybe? That’s the title getting tossed around internally.

It did look for a while like Godzilla vs. Kong would be the end of the line. Things didn’t go well for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and it was unclear if audiences had just grown tired of the whole thing. Clearly that wasn’t the case.

However, Wingard has a lot on his plate already. He’s currently set for a Face/Off remake that will probably be next. He also signed up for a ThunderCats movie, and since he’s a giant fan of the toy franchise and cartoon, the chances of him pushing that aside are slim.

Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ Series Adds ‘Snowpiercer’ Scribe Chinaka Hodge As Head Writer

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Travis Hopson

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April 27, 2021

The story of Iron Man might be over, but the story of Ironheart is just beginning. A few months ago we learned of an upcoming Disney+ series from Marvel centered on Riri Williams aka Ironheart. The genius teen who managed to reverse engineer one of Tony Stark’s armors will be played by Dominique Thorne, and now we know who will be leading the show’s writing team.

Variety reports Chinaka Hodge has been hired as lead writer on Ironheart. Hodge is known for her work as a staff writer on TNT’s Snowpiercer series.

Riri Williams is a 15-year-old genius, one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe, who uses her smarts as an MIT student. When she discovers one of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armors, she reverse engineers it and makes use of it herself as a superhero.

It’s possible the Ironheart series could tie-in to the upcoming Armor Wars show led by Don Cheadle’s War Machine.

THR adds that Ironheart will be six episodes long, a length which worked pretty well for Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Correction: The writer's room opens in May for the six-episode series. (Deleted the below tweet). https://t.co/VPiW9cEsgz pic.twitter.com/e8BUoshaLC

— Aaron Couch (@AaronCouch) April 27, 2021

‘American Traitor: The Trial Of Axis Sally’ Trailer: Al Pacino Defends A Woman Convicted Of Treason

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Travis Hopson

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April 27, 2021

The word “treason” has been thrown around a lot lately in the wake of the January 6th attack on the Capitol, but the number of Americans actually charged with treason is very few. American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally, tells the story of the first woman ever to be convicted of it by the United States.

Directed by Michael Polish (Big Sur), the historical drama stars Al Pacino and Meadow Williams. Pacino plays James Laughlin, an attorney who attempts to redeem the reputation of Mildred Gillars, convicted oftreason for broadcasting Nazi propaganda to U.S. troops during WWII.

Also in the cast are Thomas Kretschmann (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Indiana Jones 5), Swen Temmel, and Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files).

American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally opens in select theaters and VOD on May 28th.

Based on the true story, AMERICAN TRAITOR: THE TRIAL OF AXIS SALLY follows the life of American woman Mildred Gillars (Meadow Williams) and her lawyer (Al Pacino), who struggles to redeem her reputation. Dubbed “Axis Sally” for broadcasting Nazi propaganda to American troops during World War II, Mildred’s story exposes the dark underbelly of the Third Reich’s hate-filled propaganda machine, her eventual capture in Berlin, and subsequent trial for treason against the United States after the war.

‘Vivo’ Trailer: Lin-Manuel Miranda Is A Singing Kinkajou From Havana In Netflix’s Animated Musical

By

Travis Hopson

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April 27, 2021

Is In the Heights just not enough Lin-Manuel Miranda for you? Well, good news, because he’s got another movie coming later this year. Miranda will voice a singing kinkajou in Netflix’s Vivo, an animated musical the streamer is releasing in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation after working out a deal yesterday. They didn’t waste any time getting this ready, did they?

So wait…what the heck is a kinkajou?

It’s a Central American, tree-dwelling mammal referred to as a “honey bear”, but basically it looks like a really cute monkey. In Vivo, Miranda plays the titular kinkajou who shares his love of music through song with the people of Havana.

SYNOPSIS: An animated musical adventure that follows VIVO, a one-of-kind kinkajou (aka a rainforest “honey bear,” voiced by Miranda), who must find his way from Havana to Miami in order to deliver a song on behalf of his beloved owner and mentor Andres (Buena Vista Social Club’s Juan de Marcos González). VIVO is an exhilarating story about gathering your courage, finding family in unlikely friends, and the belief that music can open you to new worlds.

Miranda composed and performed original songs for Vivo, reuniting with his Tony Award-winning composer Alex Lacamoire, who he worked with on In the Heights and Hamilton.

The film was directed by Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) and Brandon Jeffords, and features the voices of Zoe Saldana, Ynairaly Simo, Juan de Marcos González, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, Gloria Estefan, and Michael Rooker.

‘Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans’ Trailer Reveals Summer Release For Guillermo Del Toro’s Animated Saga

By

Travis Hopson

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April 27, 2021

While we all lament there aren’t more Guillermo Del Toro projects, one has been winning hearts and awards for a few years on Netflix. Del Toro’s animated Trollhunters series is coming back for Rise of the Titans, a feature film on Netflix that serves as a culmination of the three prior seasons. And after being part of the streamer’s summer teaser earlier today, an actual trailer has dropped that reveals a release date.

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans will hit Netflix on July 21st. The Tales of Arcadia series takes place in a seemingly ordinary town that serves as the nexus to a secret realm populated by trolls and other magical creatures.

The synopsis for Rise of the Titans reads: Arcadia may look like an ordinary town but it lies at the center of magical and mystical lines that makes it a nexus for many battles among otherworldly creatures including trolls, aliens and wizards. Now the heroes from the hit series Trollhunters, 3Below and Wizards, team-up in their most epic adventure yet where they must fight the Arcane Order for control over the magic that binds them all.

Trollhunters is one of those shows I’ve been meaning to catch up with, but have always been sidetracked from. That Del Toro has had the creative freedom to do this sort of thing on Netflix is one reason why filmmakers continue to flock to them.

‘Yasuke’ Trailer: Lakeith Stanfield Voices Netflix’s Anime Series About The Black Samurai Warrior

By

Travis Hopson

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April 27, 2021

Netflix has delved pretty deep into the realm of anime already, but they take it to another level with Yasuke. The anticipated series brings the Japanese style, appropriately enough, to a samurai series based on the titular real-life figure, regarded as the first-known Black samurai warrior who operated in the 16th-century. Did he fight giant mechs and face magic during that time? Probably not, but who cares when it looks this cool, and has Lakeith Stanfield voicing the warrior.

Here’s the synopsis: The tale is set in a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords.

Also in the voice cast are Takehiro Hira, Maya Tanida, Ming-Na Wen, Paul Nakauchi, Darren Criss, Julie Marcus, William Christopher Stephens, Dia Frampton, Don Donahue, Amy Hill, and Noshi Dalal. Animation is being handled by the same folks behind Attack on Titan: The Final Season, which should make anime fans happy. The series also comes from LeSean Thomas, known for his work on Cannon Busters and The Boondocks. There’s a lot here for animation fans to get hyped up about.

Yasuke hits Netflix on April 29th.