Emma Stefansky
New ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Concept Art: Planet Hulk, Gladiator Fights, and One Mean Hela
Thor: Ragnarok is possibly the most anticipated superhero movie of this year, and with director Taika Waititi at the helm, plus those hilarious shorts with Thor and his roommate Darryl, excitement is steadily building. This month’s Doctor Strange video release gave us a few new looks at the next movies on the MCU slate, including two pieces of fantastic concept art from Thor: Ragnarok.
The ‘Black Panther’ Movie Has Some Seriously Gorgeous Concept Art
For all the scope of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, we’ve only gotten one fleeting look at the fictional African nation of Wakanda: that one shot at the end of Captain America: Civil War. That place has been pretty shrouded in mystery ever since, but now that we’re getting a Black Panther movie, we’re also getting a deeper look inside the country’s borders. The most recent information comes courtesy of the Doctor Strange digital HD release, which has, among other things, some really beautiful Black Panther concept art.
Wolverine Shows His Claws in Two New ‘Logan’ TV Spots
It took a while for Logan to quit the coy act and give us some footage, and now that they finally have, what a gorgeous movie it looks to be. Two new TV spots for Logan debuted today, which show off the mutant’s impaling skills and introduce us to his enemies, the Reavers.
‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ Director Needed an ‘Army of Lawyers’ for that Bonkers Third Act
There’s one thought that many of us probably have while watching pop culture mashup extravaganzas The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie: How much did they have to SPEND on all of this? Not only is it packed with classic Batman references, The LEGO Batman Movie features an even more impressive array of properties than the first in its insane latter half, which involved a lot of secrecy and a lot of lawyers. [Be warned: this post contains major SPOILERS for The LEGO Batman Movie.]
Michael Douglas Will Reprise His Hank Pym Role for ‘Ant Man and the Wasp’
We knew from the title that two actors would definitely be returning to Ant Man and the Wasp: Paul Rudd, who plays Ant Man, and Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne a.k.a. the Wasp. Michael Douglas enjoyed his stint as original Ant Man Hank Pym, and was enthusiastic about possibly returning but didn’t know for sure. That is, until today, when he revealed that, yes, he would indeed be coming back for the second one.
Scarlett Johansson Sorta Gets That ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Whitewashing Thing, But Not Really
Two movies steeped in the very same kind of controversy are about to hit theaters: The Great Wall, whose casting of Matt Damon in the lead role of a movie ostensibly about a fantastical spin on Chinese history is laughable at best, and Ghost in the Shell, which cast Scarlett Johanssen in a role that is, for all intents and purposes, a Japanese woman. Well, robot-woman. Both sets of actors from both films have tried their best to find ways around this whitewashing issue, with many involved in The Great Wall calling it a “cross-cultural” story of “an outsider.” Johanssen recently addressed accusations of whitewashing leveled at her own movie, and unfortunately she doesn’t really get it.
We Could Have Seen Coolio Play Scarecrow in Joel Schumacher’s Cancelled Third ‘Batman’ Movie
Among many, many other things, Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin featured a very special cameo: Coolio was the overseer of that random street race Batgirl was involved in, and he revealed recently that he agreed to cameo because he wanted a part in the next Batman film. Namely, he wanted to play Scarecrow. Unfortunately, Batman and Robin was, well, quite bad, and the fifth installment in that Batman series never got made.
Extensive New ‘Batman v. Superman’ VFX Reel Shows Us Everything That Was Never There
It’s no secret that Zack Snyder productions rely heavily on visual effects: every set involves green-screen, every shot it color-graded to within an inch of its life. Batman v. Superman is a superhero story of epic proportions, and as such required a ton of enhancements in post-production. A new VFX reel breaks down a bunch of key shots to show us everything that was never actually there during the shoot.
Kevin Feige Says Marvel Won’t Repeat That ‘Where’s Black Widow’ Toy Controversy
When Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters, many fans were especially excited that the movie featured not one, but two fantastic female characters. But then something weird happened: Gamora, one of the main five Guardians, was oddly absent from the majority of toys found in stores, her likeness and figurine even scrubbed from sets and merchandise purportedly featuring the whole team. When Avengers: Age of Ultron premiered, it was the same story over again. Both of these instances prompted the hashtags #WheresGamora and #WheresBlackWidow from fans who were sick of the lack of female representation for kids and adults alike. Kevin Feige, we’re all happy to hear, says that that won’t happen again.
Cyborg Confirmed as the Third Mother Box in ‘Justice League’
Way back in Batman v. Superman, some plot stuff was introduced that may have been overshadowed by… all the other weird things that happened in that movie. BvS introduced the Mother Boxes, devices that act like super-supercomputers in possession of fantastic powers and abilities. Three Mother Boxes are hidden away on Earth: one under the sea with the Atlanteans, one with the Amazons, and one with humankind. Turns out, Cyborg, the half-human half-machine member of the team, has been confirmed as one of the Mother Boxes in Justice League.