It actually hasn’t been that long since we’ve heard Ron Howard’s voiceover set to the ukulele theme from Arrested Development. That was just last week in a clever mashup with Star Wars: A New Hope. But if we’re looking for the real deal…well, there haven’t been new episodes of Arrested Development since 2013 on Netflix, but the Bluth family is back and coming sooner than expected.
A new trailer for the show’s fifth season is here and it doesn’t seem to reference much, if anything, from season four. Netflix has gone out of its way to make you forget that poorly-received season happened, releasing a “remixed” version just a few days ago that completely replaces the original. Instead this teaser is full of highlights from initial three-season run which everybody loved. Because of scheduling and other factors season four played wonky with its timeline and rarely featured the talented cast altogether at once.
I couldn’t get through it, but will give the remix a try at some point.
We’ll find out on May 29th if the next batch of episodes can make up for the past. So prepare to binge on the Bluths this Memorial Day weekend!
It wasn’t that long ago that fans, and probably Lucasfilm execs, were worried Solo: A Star Wars Story would be a huge disaster. Ron Howard had come in to replace original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and there wasn’t a lot of faith the course could be corrected in time. Add to that a motley cast put together (Who was this Ehrenreich fellow??), the lowered expectations for a spinoff movie, and it just seemed like a disappointment was very possible. Well, the advance ticket sales should calm a lot of those fears.
Fandango’s presale tickets to Solo went on sale back on May 4th, and Variety reports that within 24 hours sales had doubled that of Black Panther, one of the biggest movies of the year. Damn. Of course it didn’t get a sniff of what Infinity War did, but it’s all Disney so what do they care? The second best first day of ticket sales will just have to do.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is projected for a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend with north of $170M. That’s obviously huge, but if there are going to be sequels it will depend on the film’s longevity. Howard told Fandango that it will be up to the fans if there are going to more of Han Solo’s youthful adventures with his furry pal Chewbacca…
“I think the fans are going to define all of that. I mean I think that Lucasfilm and Disney in casting actors, and particularly younger actors, want to see what happens and build upon that. Certainly, they want the commitment from the young actors, but there are no concrete plans. I think there’s been a lot of creative energy and now marketing energy going behind this movie.”
He continues, “I think [Disney and Lucasfilm are] going to be very interested to see how people respond to it and take it from there. This whole thing is kind of a cool, ambitious exploration of what the galaxy and the Star Wars sensibility can continue to mean to fans.”
We already know Ehrenreich is signed on for at least three movies, and that makes sense. Unlike Rogue One, which already has a sequel called Star Wars: A New Hope, there could be tons of stories told with Han Solo focusing on various stages of his criminal career before joining the rebellion. Heck, maybe tell a story that directly leads up to him being in the Mos Eisley cantina that fateful day.
I don’t think for a second that Solo will actually beat Black Panther overall, but it certainly isn’t going to be a flop like many predicted. We’ll find out when the film opens on May 25th.
Are you ready for a cup of coffee? As Marvel’s Netflix shows veer further away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe writ large, I think we’ll see them begin to take on greater stylistic independence. Luke Cage‘s first season was a terrific example of this, a hip-hop infused effort that gave Marvel their boldest and blackest hero months before Black Panther clawed into theaters. The season still suffered from the same bloat as the other Marvel shows, but it was arguably as popular as anything they’ve done since Daredevil debuted. And now Cage is back for another go ’round and a new trailer for the season is here.
Set to the killer sounds of Erik B. and Rakim’s “I Ain’t No Joke”and M.O.P.’s “Ante Up”, the trailer finds Cage doing what he does best, kicking ass and….well, maybe getting his ass kicked is more like it, by the sweet feet of villain John McIver aka Bushmaster, played by Brawl in Cell Block 99‘s Mustafa Shakir. Here’s the synopsis:
After clearing his name, Luke Cage has become a celebrity on the streets of Harlem with a reputation as bulletproof as his skin. But being so visible has only increased his need to protect the community and find the limits of who he can and can’t save. With the rise of a formidable new foe, Luke is forced to confront the fine line that separates a hero from a villain.
Simone Missick, Rosario Dawson, Alfre Woodard, Theo Rossi, Mustafa Shakir, and Gabrielle Dennis are all back, joined by Thomas Q. Jones, Finn Jones aka Iron Fist (Boooo!!!!), and the late Reg E. Cathey who you can hear in some of the trailer’s voiceover.
James Gunn was at it again, kicking all of you Groot fans right in the feels with some really really sad shit revelations you probably didn’t need to know, but were curious about. In this case it has to do with Avengers: Infinity War, and the teenage Groot’s final words uttered to Rocket as the previously-sullen tree began to fade away in the wake of Thanos’ genocidal actions. All we knew is that whatever he said really shook Rocket up, and now we know what it is. Prepare yourself.
Oooof, yeah that hurts. The Vin Diesel-voiced tree creature doesn’t really it’s not Bradley Cooper who is his Dad but actually Dwayne Johnson since he totally sonned his Fast & Furious franchise away from him.
So yeah, Gunn has a habit of doing this stuff every time Groot dies. He was the one who told unsuspecting fans that the original Groot is REALLY dead and that baby Groot wasn’t a reincarnation or anything. Now that version is gone, too, and who knows what we’ll end up with in Avengers 4 and Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Just rest assured that when he gets killed off Gunn will be there to make sure you feel every bit of it.
When Mike Tyson was the most feared young boxer in the world, soon to be known as the “baddest man on the planet”, it was legendary trainer Cus D’Amato in his corner. While I’m surprised there has yet to be a major feature film about Tyson’s career, it’s even more surprising that D’Amato will get one with first with Bruce Willis leading the way.
Willis is set to star as D’Amato in Cornerman, a film written and directed by actor Rupert Friend. The Bronx-born D’Amato trained numerous champions of the squared circle, including Floyd Paterson, Jose Tores, and Tyson. D’Amato was known for taking a personal interest in his fighters, making them more like part of his family than just a means to make money. He was the one who helped take a raw talent like Tyson and set him on the course to becoming the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in boxing history. The film will focus on D’Amato when he was a retired trainer in the 1980s Catskills, running a small gym with his trainers to help coach future contenders. However, the gym’s backer is pressuring D’Amato to find a real champion and secure his professional legacy. Guess who he discovers then? The future Mr. Robin Givens, that’s who.
Shooting is set to begin in the fall, marking Friend’s directorial debut. Friend is best known for starring alongside Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria and as the title character in Hitman: Agent 47. [Deadline]
Unbelievably, that horrible-looking Peter Rabbit movie shredded the box office like a head of lettuce earlier this year. The live-action/CGI film earned a whopping $326M worldwide and put the thieving bunny on a number of ad campaigns domestically. That’s how we reward the crime of vegetable thievery in this country, with commercials! Well now Sony wants to bring Peter back for more mischief.
Variety reports Peter Rabbit 2 is in the works with original director Will Gluck returning. What we don’t know is if James Corden will be back to voice Peter, or if Domhnall Gleeson will reprise his role as the traumatized farmer who was happy with his garden on his little patch of land before that rabbit came along. Others in the cast included Rose Byrne, Sam Neill, Daisy Ridley, Elizabeth Debicki, and Margot Robbie. Something tells me it might be tough wrangling all of them in again.
Sony’s moving fast on this, too, setting the sequel for February 7th 2020.
Paul Giamatti is the latest to join Disney’s Jungle Cruise, a film that is racking up an amazing array of talent. He’ll get to reunite with Dwayne Johnson, who he starred with in disaster flick San Andreas. Johnson was the guy with the huge muscles. The rest of the Jungle Cruise cast includes Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall, Edgar Ramirez, and Jesse Plemons. Giamatti will play a crusty ol’ harbormaster who presumably encounters the boat captain (Johnson) escorting a brother and sister to a mystical tree said to have healing powers. Director Jaume Collet-Serra plans to begin filming later this month. [THR]
Calvary director John Michael McDonagh is casting up his next film, The Forgiven, an adaptation of Lawrence Osborne’s novel. Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Mark Strong, and Said Taghmaoui (Wonder Woman) are set to star in the story of a tragic accident’s impact on an English couple, their friends, and Moroccan locals at a luxurious desert villa. McDonagh’s most recent film was the R-rated cop comedy, War on Everyone. He’s the brother of In Bruges and Three Billboards director Martin McDonagh.
Taking a look at director Ana Lily Amirpour’s first two movies, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and The Bad Batch, it’s clear she’s not a director who fits neatly into any particular category. Her films are unpredictable and atmospheric, with setting a big role in establishing tone, whether it be an Iranian vampire flick or post-apocalyptic America run by cannibals. Amirpour is setting up her next film, Blood Moon, and this time she’s taking the action to New Orleans.
Hitting the sales market at Cannes, Blood Moon is being described as a “mind-bending adventure” inspired by the fantasy adventure movies of the ’80s and ’90s. Set in the swamp neon-lit streets of New Orleans, the story centers on a girl with dangerous special abilities who escapes a mental institution and rejoins the chaos of modern civilization.
Amirpour seriously upped the star power with her second feature, and now that she’s becoming a favorite of the art house scene I expect this one will have even bigger names. Deadline thinks this could be her breakout film but I think her appeal is not aiming for mainstream success. Hopefully we’ll start hearing more about casting in the coming weeks.
1. Avengers: Infinity War– $112.4M/$450.8M
Marvel continues to steamroll over the box office, even with a 56% drop in its second weekend. That doesn’t matter so much when the opening weekend is nearly $300M, though, does it? Avengers: Infinity War earned $112M in its second week, but I think the biggest number is $1.1B, which it earned in only 11 days, the fastest in recorded history. The $112M is the second highest for a second weekend ever, though. Already it stands as the 15th highest-grossing movie in history and is only just getting started.
2. Overboard– $14.75M
This will come as a surprise to some, but the poorly reviewed Overboard remake is a hit, and Anna Faris isn’t the reason why. That would be Mexican star Eugenio Derbez, who has proven to be a reliable box office force previously with How to be a Latin Lover ($61M), Instructions Not Included ($100M) and Miracles from Heaven ($73M). The gender swapped remake of the Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn comedy from 1987 didn’t get screened for critics but again, this is why it helps to have a star like Derez on board whose audience doesn’t care what Rotten Tomatoes says.
3. A Quiet Place– $7.6M/$159.8M
4. I Feel Pretty– $4.9M/$37.7M
5. Rampage– $4.6M/$84.7M
6. Tully (review)- $3.18M
Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s Tully opened to a disappointing $3.1M on over 1300 theaters. The Young Adult reunion stars Charlize Theron as a mother of three who is gifted a night nurse played by the wonderful Mackenzie Davis. This is one of the year’s best movies and the reviews reflect it, and I’m convinced this is a matter of bad timing. I expect we’ll be hearing about Tully throughout the year as one of those quiet gems, and hopefully audiences catch up with it in the coming weeks or on home release.
7. Black Panther– $3.14M/$693.1M
8. Truth or Dare– $1.88M/$38.2M
9. Super Troopers 2– $1.81M/$25.4M
10. Bad Samaritan (review)- $1.7M
I don’t know what the expectations were for the small-scale thriller Bad Samaritan, but surely this wasn’t it. The Dean Devlin-directed film boasts only one “big” name, David Tennant, who is genuinely great as a deranged killer in this surprisingly solid crime movie. It opened in over 2000 theaters, which is more than Overboard and Tully can say, and yet only earned $1.7M for a pathetic $876 per site. That’s the 8th worst opening ever for a movie in over 2000 locations.
Roland Emmerich may have fumbled the ball with his Independence Day sequel, but he’s not sitting around crying about it. He’s finally moving forward on another passion project, Midway, one of those big historical epics he likes to dabble in every now and then. And this one’s shaping up to be quite a show, with the ever-busy Woody Harrelson reuniting with Emmerich, his director on the disaster flick 2012.
Harrelson, along with This Is Us star Mandy Moore, are in talks to lead the WWII film about the Battle of Midway, a key turning point in the war. Emmerich will direct from a script by Wes Tooke (Colony) that centers on the soldiers and aviators that helped the Allied forces secure their first naval victory over the Japanese.
The $100M project could use Harrelson’s star power for sure. He scored his third Oscar nomination earlier this year for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but also managed to lead a number of successful franchises. He’ll be seen next in Solo: A Star Wars Story. This will be a return to the battlefield for him after a role in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. Moore has a role in this summer’s sci-fi flick The Darkest Minds, the live-action debut of Kung Fu Panda director Jennifer Yuh Nelson. [Deadline]
