Catherine Laga‘aia is playing the title character in the live-action ‘Moana’.
Dwayne Johnson is reprising his role as Maui.
‘Hamilton’ director Thomas Kail is behind the camera.
We’ve known since April that, in addition to the animation sequel headed to theaters this Thanksgiving, Disney is hard at work on a live-action version of 2016’s animated hit ‘Moana’.
But while that announcement included word that Dwayne Johnson would be reprising his role as demi-god Maui, there was no indication of who might be inheriting the title role of the young Pacific Islander who sets sail on a quest, as Auli’i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated version, is instead just a producer on this one.
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What’s the story of Moana?
Walt Disney Studios Animation’s ‘Moana.’
The original movie follows the young woman rebelling against the insular nature of her island community and embracing her destiny as an adventurer, helping to sort out a huge problem in the process.
Along the way, she meets Maui, the mischievous, shape-shifting demi-god who is initially a thorn in her side but ends up a trusted companion.
Who is appearing in the ‘Moana’ live-action movie?
Frankie Adams.
Here’s what Catherine Laga‘aia had to say about getting the role:
“I’m really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favorites. My grandfather comes from Fa‘aala, Palauli, in Savai‘i. And my grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai on the main island of ‘Upolu in Samoa. I’m honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples, and to represent young girls who look like me.”
She’ll be joined in the cast by Auckland, New Zealander John Tui as Moana’s no-nonsense father, Chief Tui; Samoan-New Zealand actress Frankie Adams portrays Moana’s playful and strong-willed mother, Sina; and Rena Owen, who hails from Bay of Islands, NZ, was cast as the revered Gramma Tala.
Thomas Kail, who directed the theatre sensation ‘Hamilton’ (and on TV made the likes of ‘Fosse/Verdon’ and ‘Up Here’), is behind the camera for the new ‘Moana’.
This is his statement on tackling the new movie:
“I am thrilled to have met Catherine, Rena, Frankie and John through this casting process. I am humbled by this opportunity, and I cannot wait to all be on set together. And there’s no better pair to be in a canoe with than Catherine and Dwayne — actually, trio: Heihei is ready, too.”
In case that last name has you saying “whowho?”, Heihei is Moana’s extremely dim chicken friend from the animated pic.
Jared Bush, who co-wrote on the original ‘Moana’, has crafted the new script alongside Samoan writer Dana Ledoux Miller. And Kail’s old friend, ‘Hamilton’ creator/actor Lin-Manuel Miranda (who also wrote songs for the animated movie) is a producer on this one.
When will the live-action ‘Moana’ be in theaters?
Disney has planted a flag in July 10th, 2026, as the release date for the new movie.
(Left) Al Pacino at the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Right) Dan Stevens in 2014’s ‘The Guest.’
Preview:
Al Pacino and Dan Stevens are starring in ‘The Ritual’.
David Midell co-wrote the script and will direct.
It’s a based-on-truth story of possession and exorcism.
If you were to go to the IMDb and enter the title ‘The Ritual’, you’ll find yourself confronted with a boatload of movies and shorts using that name. And that’s not even including the ones that add extra words such as ‘The Ritual Killer’.
So we think it’s high time there was a moratorium on using the title, say for around 100 years from now, to force filmmakers to come up with more original names for their work –– even if, as in the case of director David Midell’s new movie –– it does hinge on rituals.
With its grounding in a true story, the movie follows two priests — one questioning his faith (Stevens) and one reckoning with a troubled past (Pacino) — who must put aside their differences to save a possessed young woman through a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms.
The film is an authentic portrayal of Emma Schmidt, an American woman whose demonic possession culminated in harrowing exorcisms. Her case remains the most thoroughly documented exorcism in American history.
It’s certainly one that has potential –– after all, we’ve seen successful horror movies drawn from true life cases (or loosely based on them) including the likes of ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’, last year’s Russell Crowe pic ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ and, of course, even ‘The Exorcist’, which has its roots in reality.
Who else is in ‘The Ritual’?
Ashley Greene and Abigail Cowen are also in the cast for this one, but we’d expect that to expand as the movie gets going.
Who is making ‘The Ritual’?
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Midell, who previously directed movies such as ‘NightLights’ and ‘The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain’, wrote the new movie with his creative partner Enrico Natale.
And Stevens is no stranger to horror movies –– his latest, ‘Abigail’, is in theaters right now, and he has ‘Cuckoo’ coming up later this year. As for Pacino, his most famous horror-inflected movie may well be ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, in which he played John Milton, who turns out to be… well, the title is a clue. We would also throw in his performance as a version of himself rapping about coffee in ‘Jack and Jill’. That’s pretty terrifying.
When will ‘The Ritual’ be in theaters?
As of yet, the movie, which will be distributed worldwide by XYZ Films, doesn’t yet have a set date, but the company is planning to release it next year.
Oscar® nominee, Al Pacino arrives on the red carpet of The 92nd Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 9, 2020.
Bill Skarsgård in ‘The Crow.’ Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate.
Preview:
Lionsgate brought the likes of ‘The Crow’ and ‘Borderlands’ to CinemaCon.
Stars including Henry Cavill and Halle Berry promoted their new movies.
The studio revealed several movies that have yet to lock down release dates.
Following a somewhat subdued and honestly lacking 2023 presentation, Lionsgate has a much more packed release schedule this year.
With movies such as the new take on ‘The Crow’, video game adaptation ‘Borderlands’ and an actual update on ‘John Wick’ spin-off ‘Ballerina’ –– there is plenty for the company to drum up excitement for.
But before talking about the movies coming in 2024, there was a chance to tease even further in the future, with confirmation of ‘Shang-Chi’ director Destin Daniel Cretton adapting the ‘Naruto’ manga and anime, the third ‘Now You See Me’ in development with Ruben Fleischer directing and, even more intriguingly, Jason Blum’s Blumhouse working on a new ‘Blair Witch Project’ and Margot Robbie intending to make a ‘Monopoly’ movie with her LuckyChap company.
‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ opens in theaters on April 19th. Photo Credit: Daniel Smith.
The upcoming release of Guy Ritchie’s World War II based-on-truth spy action thriller gave the company the chance to also tease his early 2025 release, which we now know is called ‘In The Grey’ and features criminals who work in a gray area of the world, somewhere between right and wrong.
Henry Cavill was brought out on stage to promote ‘Ministry’ and ‘In The Grey’, which he’s also appearing in. ‘In The Grey’ will see him once more appearing alongside ‘Ministry’s Eiza Gonzalez, with the addition of Jake Gyllenhaal and Rosamund Pike. It’s a heist thriller that looks slick and fun.
And because he’s Mr. Lionsgate right now, Cavill also talked up the ‘Highlander’ reboot movie series that has Chad Stahelski in the director’s chair.
According to Cavill, the new movies will dig much deeper into the lore of the characters and the world in ways the previous films did not. “I’m a lover of the original movies, for better or for worse, and it’s one of those things where when I was reading the script for the first time I wasn’t quite too sure where they were going to go with it.”
He also teases that, “If you thought you’ve seen me do sword work before, you haven’t seen anything.” Showoff!
‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ opens next week on April 19th, ‘In The Grey’ will be in theaters on January 17, 2025. The ‘Highlander’ movie has yet to score a date.
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The presentation then moved on to a quick look at…
Director Renny Harlin’s ‘The Strangers: Chapter 1.’ Photo: Lionsgate Films.
The reboot of the horror franchise comes from Renny Harlin and kicks off a fresh trilogy.
This first new movie follows what happens when a couple driving cross-country to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest sees their car break down and is forced to spend the night in a secluded rental, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
A trailer was shown, but you can see the previously released version below.
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‘The Strangers: Chapter 1’ will be in theaters on May 17th.
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Onwards to what the studio is no doubt hoping will be one of its heavy hitters in an era where video game adaptations are ruling the genre roost…
Bill Skarsgård in ‘The Crow.’ Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate.
The presentation for the supernatural thriller remake begins with a lot of talk about how the new movie draws more from James O’Barr’s graphic novel source material more closely than the 1994 adaptation.
With Rupert Sanders directing this one, the cast includes Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs and Danny Huston in the story of a couple who are murdered when the woman’s past catches up to her, only for the guy to be brought back to mystical life to take violent revenge on the criminals responsible.
The new trailer for the movie played to the room, which vastly improved on the first. It’s a lot grittier and more violent and spends a little more time building up the relationship between Skarsgård and Twigs and then being told, “The Crow will guide you to put the wrong things right. Kill them. Kill them all…”
We watch our hero getting into impressive scraps and needing to rebuild his body after a nasty encounter with traffic. Could this turn around word on the new movie?
It’s the story of a family who have been haunted by an evil presence for years –– or at least, that’s what their mother claims –– begins to question the truth of their situation. Berry talked about how she’s an adrenaline junkie who grew up loving ‘The Shining’ and looked to be part of a story she’s never seen before.
And she also mentioned going Full Method to play an overprotective mother who lives with her kids in a cabin in the woods –– including learning to skin a squirrel.
The movie features Dave Bautista as an assassin who falls for Sofia Boutella and looks to start a family. But then alas! He’s diagnosed with a fatal disease, so to help those around him avoid the pain of a long illness, he takes out a contract on his own life… until he learns he was misdiagnosed and learns that the contract is still valid –– and a lot of his former colleagues (including an enthusiastic killer played by old ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ pal Pom Klementieff) are still looking to collect.
‘Day Shift’s’ J.J. Perry is behind this one, and it looks fun, but it has yet to confirm a release date.
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Now, to one people might have something to say about…
‘Flight Risk’
A thriller directed by Mel Gibson and starring Mark Wahlberg? Yeah, surely that won’t be controversial.
Still, the film, which features Wahlberg as a scenery-chewing mob hitman who takes over piloting a charter flight transporting a prisoner (Topher Grace) to New York to stand trial had a footage reel. The biggest thing to draw attention appeared to be Wahlberg’s accent and hair…
‘Flight Risk’ is still being edited, so it has yet to announce a release slot.
It’s the story of Ansari’s struggling Los Angeles-based assistant, who is visited by a “budget guardian angel” (how could Reeves be a budget anything?), who helps him find meaning and value in his life. And how is that accomplished? A body-swap twist with Rogen’s wealthier sort, so both can see how the other half lives.
When you have Ansari behind your movie, you naturally have him come out on stage to be funny, and so he does, poking fun at Henry Cavill and how theater owners (the primary crowd here) frequent strip clubs in Vegas.
He also tells a story about Keanu Reeves –– a man who has survived ‘Matrix’ and ‘John Wick’ movies ending up on crutches while shooting this film… by tripping on a rug on his way back to his trailer. He kept on working, shooting everything bar one dance sequence, for which Ansari, in a moment of genuine gratitude, described him as an actual angel.
‘Good Fortune’ is another movie without a release date in place.
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
The ‘Wick’ spin-off starring Ana de Armas as an assassin has been the subject of much speculation, most pointedly because it has been delayed more than once.
After little to talk about on this one last year, the company had more to say on this one, including extra details on how the release delays allowed director Len Wiseman to go in an add extra action scenes.
The first trailer for the film screened which, to no-one’s surprise, includes Reeves’ appearance as John Wick in the movie. And, also less than surprising, it factors in the High Table, the Continental, and some key cast from the franchise. From the looks of it, Reeves’ Wick will be training de Armas’ character.
‘Ballerina’ will land in theaters on June 6th next year.
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in ‘Michael.’ Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur
It’s still in production, so director Antoine Fuqua couldn’t make it to Vegas, but Lionsgate still wanted to make sure we all know the Michael Jackson biopic is on the way next year. Producer Graham King (who has no little experience with musical movies about big stars after ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’) was on hand to offer a first look. Behind-the-scenes buzz-builder ahoy!
King revealed that the movie will feature more than 30 songs from Jackson’s oeuvre, and that it’ll dig into various aspects of his life in music and beyond. How far it’ll probe still remains to be seen, but King seemed confident in the filmmakers’ approach.
‘Michael’ is due to arrive on April 18th next year.
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Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo to portray Jackson Family Patriarch Joe Jackson in Lionsgate and Universal Pictures International’s Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael.’
Max’s ‘Titans.’ Photograph by Courtesy of HBO Max.
Preview:
A ‘Teen Titans’ live-action movie is planned for DC Studios.
Ana Nogueira has been hired to write the script.
We can expect to see the likes of Robin, Kid Flash and more hit screens.
While none of the movies or TV shows in the big announcement made by James Gunn and Peter Safran, the filmmaker/producer duo who run the current incarnation of DC Studios for Warner Bros., have arrived yet (the ‘Creature Commandoes‘ are on their way to TV screens while Gunn’s ‘Superman’ will launch the big screen reboot next year), we’re already to the point where new projects are being, if not officially confirmed, then reported on.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Teen Titans are headed to theaters in live-action form.
Who are the Teen Titans?
DC Comic’s Teen Titans. Photo: DC Comics.
The characters, usually sidekicks to main heroes, have been a team in DC Comics since their first appearance together in ‘The Brave and the Bold’ title in 1964. Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, the group has naturally been through different evolutions in their time (they are comic book characters, after all), but the group usually includes some version of Robin (often Damien Wayne), Kid Flash (Wally West), Aqualad as well as Wonder Girl. Other teens such as Speedy, the sidekick to Green Arrow, and Raven joined the adventures later.
They went through a big change in the 1980s, when they started to become much more popular. But they have exploded in status in the last couple of decades mostly thanks to their TV adaptations. ‘Teen Titans Go!’ the animated, comedic and frequently meta take on DC has run for eight seasons on Cartoon Network, airing close to 400 episodes. The series also spawned a feature film, ‘Teen Titans Go! To the Movies’, which was released in theaters in July 2018
And then there’s ‘Titans’, the darker, moodier live-action series that launched in 2018 on DC’s short-lived digital arm DC Universe, before moving to Max and running for four seasons.
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Who will be appearing in the ‘Teen Titans’ movie?
(L to R) Ryan Potter, Joshua Orpin, Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop in ‘Titans.’ Photograph by Ben Mark Holzberg/HBO Max.
The movie is still at far too early a stage for casting to be revealed or even considered. But we can at least hope that a couple of voices/faces from the various TV incarnations at least get to cameo or are referenced in the movie.
And the plan truly is for DC Studios movies to be connected, could we see a brief appearance from whoever ends up playing Batman, set to be introduced in the ‘Brave and the Bold’ adaptation? Wishful thinking, perhaps…
Who is making the ‘Teen Titans’ movie?
James Gunn in ‘Superpowered: The DC Story.’ Photograph by Courtesy of Max/Warner Bros.
So far, the only people involved are Gunn and Safran, who will produce the new movie.
They, in turn, have recruited writer Ana Nogueira to write the script for the new movie. Nogueira, who kicked off her career acting in the likes of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘The Michael J. Fox Show’, has been scoring some big writing jobs of late, including the screenplay for ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’, which will star Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El.
Kevin Feige at the world premiere of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’ at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood CA on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages.
The last few years have not been kind to San Diego’s huge celebration of all things pop culture, Comic-Con. Despite a high point in the early-mid 2000s where massive crowds showed up to hear about new developments in franchises such as ‘Twilight’ and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the view of the event as a premium launching point for new movies and TV shows has taken a hit more recently.
And the COVID pandemic, which saw the 2020 and 2021 versions of the event reduced to a sparse virtual shadow of its former self, didn’t help.
But while hopes were raised by a largely triumphant return last year (including the traditional big panel from Marvel announcing its upcoming slate and trotting out stars and creators to generate buzz), it appears that the biggest issue on Hollywood’s mind will now have an impact on which companies are bringing anything to the event.
Writers’ strike delays
Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’
According to a new story in The Wrap, Marvel in particular has decided to make this a skip year, deciding not to bring any of its shows or movies to the huge Hall H space where it has traditionally been a highlight of the four-day event. It will still, however, have a presence on the trade show floor of the Con.
While the studio has not shown up before (or had a reduced presence due to it saving some big reveals for parent company Disney’s own D23 event, which falls after the July dates of the Con), the writers’ strike is reportedly behind the new move.
And it’s not just the writers –– acting union SAG-AFTRA has yet to make its own deal with the studios, and that could mean talent on strike, unavailable to take the stage since they a forbidden from promotional duties while engaged in industrial action. Which would put a dampener even on projects Marvel could conceivably promote, including ‘Captain Marvel’ sequel ‘The Marvels’.
President & CEO of Discovery Streaming & International JB Perrette. Photograph by Jeff Kravitz/Warner Bros. Discovery.
Marvel is not alone in this decision, as The Wrap additionally mentions that Universal and HBO are among the other names mentioned as pondering whether to show up this year.
HBO is perhaps understandable, since its own parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery is on a serious cost-cutting run (including news that it is exploring licensing big HBO series for viewers to watch on Netflix to drum up extra revenue) and would not want to splash the cash to bring talent to the Con when hotel accommodation and other expenses would be extremely high. And, like Marvel, the companies are also seeing projects being pushed back because of the strike.
Comic-Con is still scheduled to run between Thursday July 20 and Sunday July 23, but it sounds like its impact will be smaller this year.
(L to R) Louis D’Esposito and Kevin Feige at the world premiere of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’ at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood CA on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages.
Making the leap from small screen to big can be a daunting prospect. But when you’re John Luther, brought to TV screens by Idris Elba, you tend to face any challenge with your considerable smarts––and willingness to break the rules when you deem it necessary.
‘Luther’ the series, created by Neil Cross, has featured Elba’s tough nut British police detective solving many a case, but frequently crossing the line to do so. And now, for a Netflix film entitled ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun,’ that continues the story of the show, when we find Luther, he’s languishing in prison.
“He’s done so much to bend the law in order to catch the bad guys that he’s ended up in jail,” Elba tells the streaming service’s TUDUM blog. “That’s where we start the story. This old case that didn’t really ever get solved creeps up back into his life. And John can’t help but find a way to get involved. This bad guy is out there and he has to go out and get him.”
That bad guy is millionaire David Robey, a tech magnate who uses his considerable resources to discover and exploit the dark secrets of others in the service of blackmail.
Portraying Robey in Andy Serkis, who discovered that the character was beyond even what he expected. “I don’t think I’ve come across anything quite as dark for a long time,” he told Total Film magazine, admitting that the script had him asking, “do I really actually at this point in the world and time and my life, want to go down this particular rabbit hole of something that’s so hard to fathom in humanity?”
“Robey really just comes from this tension between morality and ethics,” says ‘Luther’ creator Neil Cross in the same interview. “True morality is the kind of behavior that you exhibit when you know that nobody is watching. But we’ve ceded lots of that private behavior to the semi-private forum of the internet. I’m terrified by the idea that somebody, in fact, is watching.”
The movie––which we now know will be released in select theaters on February 24th, two weeks before its arrival on Netflix’s servers––sees Luther headed outside of London’s grimy streets for snowy pastures new. But the main man is still going to be the person we know…
“Luther’s an unstoppable force,” says director Jamie Payne. “But up to this point, he’s had to tread around the law of the police, because that was his job. Now, he’s a fugitive. This is Luther untethered. This man is so forward in his thinking and is in action. He’s like a wrecking ball, but the smartest wrecking ball you’ve ever met in your life.”
Today, though (at least outside of set pics), we have our first proper look at Dr. Jones in person, via an exclusive carried by Empire magazine.
It’s been a long journey for the latest Indy movie, which has been in the works for quite some time. Through different versions and script drafts, it has evolved into an adventure that is mostly a secret for now, but it does seem to feature Indy in the 1960s.
Most notably, it’ll be the first without Steven Spielberg as director, ‘Logan’s James Mangold instead filling the big chair, and working on a script that has also seen work from Jez and John-Henry Butterworth.
And Ford, who has said that this will represent his final time playing the character, seems to be happy with the result.
Harrison Ford stars as Indiana Jones in the next ‘Indiana Jones’ movie, which will be in theaters on June 30th, 2023. Photo courtesy of Disney and Empire Magazine.
“It’s full of adventure, full of laughs, full of real emotion. And it’s complex and it’s sneaky,” Ford tells Empire, even if he admits that it was a big challenge. “The shooting of it was tough and long and arduous,” he says. “But I’m very happy with the film that we have.”
And more importantly, since he was ready to step away, the 80-year-old actor knew he wanted a sense of finality to this new outing. “I just thought it would be nice to see one where Indiana Jones was at the end of his journey,” Ford explains. “If a script came along that I felt gave me a way to extend the character.”
For Mangold, that was also the aim, while still staying true to what audiences have loved about these movies for decades. “It became really important to me to figure out how to make this a movie about a hero at sunset,” he says. “The issues I brought up about Indy’s age were not things I thought were being addressed in the material being developed at the time. There were ‘old’ jokes, but the material itself wasn’t about it. To me, whatever you greatest liability, you should fly straight towards that. If you try to pretend it’s not there, you end up getting slings and arrows the whole way.”
In the years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began to dominate the box office and impact all corners of pop consciousness, Marvel Studios Comic-Con panels have begun to resemble rock concerts or religious sermons. Or a bit of both.
And, following two years of virtual or reduced San Diego conventions, the company was not going to waste the opportunity to go big, announcing whole phases as well as what we can expect.
Following an initial sizzle reel, cartoon clock Ms. Minutes from ‘Loki’ introduced Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, who was master of ceremonies as usual.
Marvel Studio’s ‘The Multiverse Saga.’
Following some talk about the Phase 4 announcements that Feige made way back in 2019, he announces that the next Marvel show – ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ – and movie (‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’) will mark the end of that particular Phase.
Team ‘She-Hulk’, including star Tatiana Maslany, were on hand to answer brief questions and then debut the new trailer for the show, which debuts on Disney+ on August 17th this year. You can watch the trailer above and keep an eye out for a Daredevil cameo.
But if that and the ‘Panther’ sequel (more on that later) close out Phase 4, what constitutes Phase 5? Glad you asked. Fortunately, Feige, with an accompanying timeline graphic, was ready to inform us.
It all kicks off with ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, in theaters February 17th next year. We’re promised another fun romp with Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang and Evangeline Lily, though this time they’ll have to deal with trouble from powerful multiverse entity Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors, who played a version of the character in ‘Loki’).
Director Peyton Reed and stars Rudd, Lilly, Majors and Kathryn Newton (Scott’s daughter Cassie) were on stage for a Q&A and to introduce a sizzle reel from the film, which was only shown to those in the audience. One big takeaway? Giant-headed character MODOK will show up in the movie.
Whether he’ll be voiced by Patton Oswalt (who played him in the recent Hulu stop-motion series) remains to be seen.
“Scott is pretty pleased with himself in his role with saving the universe,” Rudd told the crowd. “Scott’s been busy at work–ish. With a little book (his memoir). And I don’t know what else I’m supposed to say!”
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Next up was ‘Secret Invasion’, which stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn and Cobie Smulders. The series showcases a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years, and according to Smulders (who arrived on stage in Hall H) will be a darker, grittier show that will keep you guessing as to who is a Skrull. That’ll arrive on Disney+ next spring.
And that wasn’t all – Chukwudi Iwuji (who worked with Gunn on ‘Peacemaker’) strode through the crowd in costume to announce he’s playing a villain known as the High Evolutionary. “Call me sire!” he demanded after making it to the stage.
Will Poulter was also on stage, though he made no demands and he was dressed in a T-shirt and slacks. He’s playing Adam Warlock in the movie. “I’m truly, truly grateful,” he admitted. “It’s pretty surreal to have ever stepped on the ‘Guardians’ set.”
Marvel Studios’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.’
A ‘Guardians’ sizzle reel – again, not released to the public outside the convention center – showed some details, including the fact that Zoe Saldana’s Gamora still has no memory of her friends and his running with the Ravagers.
We can also expect to see a younger Rocket Racoon (voiced as usual by Bradley Cooper) with the movie exploring his tragic origin. Groot (Vin Diesel) is grown up again in the new movie.
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The remainder of Phase 5 was limited to the announcement graphic. ‘Echo’, the spin-off series from ‘Hawkeye’ about Alaqua Cox’s deaf gangster Maya Lopez, is due on Disney+ in summer 2023. ‘Loki’ Season 2 will follow that, also on Disney+, while ‘The Marvels’ – the ‘Captain Marvel’ sequel that also features Iman Vellani from ‘Ms. Marvel’ will be in theaters on July 28, 2023.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Echo.’Marvel Studios’ ‘Loki’ Season 2.
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Fall 2023 brings ‘Ironheart’ – starring Dominique Thorne as young genius armor-builder Riri Williams – to Disney+. ‘Blade’, with Mahershala Ali as the daywalking vampire, hits theaters on November 3rd, 2023.
‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’, which returns Kathryn Hahn’s character from ‘WandaVision’ heads to Disney+ in Winter 2023/2024.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos.’
Perhaps even more exciting is official confirmation of a new ‘Daredevil’ series once starring Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio. ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ lands on Disney+ in the spring of 2024.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Daredevil: Born Again.’
‘Captain America: New World Order’, which will see the big-screen debut of Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie) version of Cap following his suiting up in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, is due in theaters on May 3rd, 2024. After that will be the anti-hero team ‘Thunderbolts’ making it to theaters on July 28th, 2024.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Captain America: New World Order.’
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Marvel Studios’ ‘Thunderbolts.’
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And what of Phase 6? So far, only three movies have been confirmed for that, with plenty of date slots still to be filled with other films and shows.
The long awaited ‘Fantastic Four’ MCU edition is due out on November 8th, 2024. And then the biggest of the title-only announcements: Phase 6 wraps up in 2025 with ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ on May 2nd, 2025, and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ on November 7th, 2025.
Marvel Studio’s ‘Fantastic Four.’
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Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.’Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: Secret Wars.’
Last, but very, very far from least, Feige wound things back to this year. ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ will be with us on November 11th.
In the movie, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Wright), M’Baku (Duke), Okoye (Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.
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They’ll need it – as the Wakandans will face conflict with an undersea nation, which will introduce Namor the Sub-Mariner, played by Huerta.
After Coogler paid emotional tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, he and the cast debuted the new trailer. You can see it for yourself below.
It’s an emotional, effective promo for the trailer, showcasing and enraged Angela Bassett and some very different locales. Oh, and someone new in the Black Panther suit (though we don’t know who yet).
And for those who like their Marvel movies in sagas as well as phases, you’ll be happy to know that Phases 4 through 6 constitute ‘The Multiverse Saga’ (as 1-3 were ‘The Infinity Saga’).
All in all, another huge successful event for Marvel, who certainly know how to put on a show!
Filming for that third season kicked off almost immediately after the second wrapped, but despite that, there wasn’t a lot of footage on display aside from the general sizzle reel that kicked off the panel.
Stewart appeared worryingly confused by some of the questions – to kick off, he didn’t realize he was being asked one and he couldn’t recall how Season 3 starts. Producer Alex Kurtzman was quick to intercede, commenting that it was Stewart who enforced the mandate that ‘Picard’ not be a cameo-heavy ‘Next Generation’ retread and that it had to “earn” the cast’s return.
With the various characters scattered across the galaxy, the initial chunk of the new season will play like a heist film as Jean-Luc rounds them up. Stewart was clear that they didn’t want to rehash old dynamics, but instead play the drama of the characters as they are now.
This season will feature a female villain that Kurtzman likened to Khan from classic ‘Trek’ movie sequel ‘Star Trek II’ in terms of head games and admitted that the storyline gave him “goosebumps’.
Oh, and while this was a strictly TV panel, Stewart did admit that he would be interested in returning to play the character in more ‘Trek’ movies, but there are no specific plans for that just yet.
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It was the turn of the ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ team next, as executive producer Mike McMahan was joined by voice cast members Jack Quaid, Noelle Wells, Tawny Newsome and Dawnn Lewis.
As expected, it was a much more raucous affair, the actors getting into their “Trek beef” but revealing how close they’ve become as collaborators and how frustrating it was not to record together during the pandemic.
Dawnn Lewis put things on a more emotional track, sharing how she’d met and been mentored by ‘Trek’ icon Nichelle Nichols in her younger days.
A new trailer for Season 3 screened (you can watch it above), featuring plenty for eagle-eyed fans to obsess over. And, as the final sequence suggests, one whole episode will be set at Deep Space Nine. Justice for ‘DS9’!
Season 2’s cliffhanger – which saw Captain Carol Freeman (Lewis) arrested after being accused of setting off a bomb on an alien planet – will be resolved relatively quickly, according to the gang.
“It’s rough, but we start season three full tilt looking for her,” Newsome says. “Trying to fix it, trying to set it right. I love the scrappiness, I love episode one of season three because our Lower Deckers are just like, ‘We gotta save the captain!’ This feels like an epic adventure. It feels like a movie!”
With ‘Lower Decks’ time on stage complete, it was the turn of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ the latest addition to the TV ‘Trek’ family.
(L TO R) Ethan Peck as Spock, Anson Mount as Pike, and Dan Jeannotte as Samuel Kirk of the Paramount+ original series ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.’ Photo: Marni Grossman/Paramount+.
The spin-off ‘Discovery’ starring Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike commanding the USS Enterprise in the days before Kirk has been a success for Paramount+ so far.
But before things could get going properly, ‘Lower Decks’ voice duo Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome stormed the panel to reveal that ‘Strange New Worlds’ and ‘Lower Decks’ will have a crossover!
In this special crossover episode, featuring both live-action and animation, fans can expect to see Ensign Beckett Mariner, voiced by Newsome, and Ensign Brad Boimler, (Quaid), joining the Enterprise in season two of ‘Strange New Worlds’. The episode will be directed by ‘Trek’ veteran Jonathan Frakes. How it’ll work is anyone’s guess at this point, but it sounds like it could be ‘Roger Rabbit’ meets ‘Star Trek’…
Paul Wesley in ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.’ Courtesy of Marni Grossman/Paramount+
And it sounds like ‘Strange New Worlds’ will be pushing to do more high concept episodes in Season 2 than just that crossover. It’s not a show that has been afraid of playing with form and story, so that makes sense.
We can also expect to see more of the nasty reptilian aliens the Gorn, who were the unofficial Big Bad of Season 1.
Wesley – who was celebrating his birthday and was sung a rousing ‘Happy Birthday’ by the crowd talked up the James T. Kirk we met in the finale. “We only saw Kirk for a handful of scenes in that episode. I’m excited for people to see this younger version of Kirk,” he said. “There’s more levity, and it’s exciting to see that. He’s growing into the character we know, not an alternate reality captain like we saw in season 1.”
But don’t worry if you’re a fan of Anson Mount’s luxurious hair – neither he nor it are going anywhere just yet as the show has a few years to go before catching up to Kirk’s era in command.
Finally, Kurtzman was asked whether ‘Deep Space Nine’ would get the revitalization treatment following the ‘Next Generation’ (in ‘Picard’) and Classic ‘Trek’ eras (in ‘Strange New Worlds’). He told the crowd not yet, since the producers didn’t want to just pull on threads of the past for novelty’s sake.
‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ is due to return to Paramount+ on August 25th, with ‘Star Trek Picard’s final season and ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2 due next year.
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.Jonathan Frakes as William Riker in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.Michael Dorn as Worf in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.
Few genre projects are as anticipated at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con than Netflix’s series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s ‘The Sandman’.
Sure, there are the gigantic likes of Marvel and DC bringing their own latest comic book-based treats to con audiences, but Gaiman’s sprawling, mystical and magical tale of the Lord of Dreams (and the various people, creatures and realms he encounters) is a truly special one to its fans.
And it’s a story that has long defied attempts at adaptation, especially on the movie front (and partly because Gaiman himself has tried to make sure that if it happened at all, it happens right).
The longer format of serialized television and the budgets/technology afforded by today’s streaming services finally appears to have cracked it, and the show is less than a month away. So Netflix naturally went all out with a Hall H panel featuring cast and creators.
The cast of Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
For those who might be unaware of the comic book (which debuted back in the 1980s), this is the story of another world that waits for all of us when we close our eyes and sleep — a place called the Dreaming, where The Sandman, Master of Dreams (Sturridge), gives shape to all of our deepest fears and fantasies.
But when Dream is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for a century, his absence sets off a series of events that will change both the dreaming and waking worlds forever. To restore order, Dream must journey across different worlds and timelines to mend the mistakes he’s made during his vast existence, revisiting old friends and foes, and meeting new entities — both cosmic and human — along the way.
That feels like a very CliffsNotes summation for something that is gigantic and filled with myths and monsters. Oh, and a talking Raven called Matthew (voiced in the series by Oswalt, a confirmed fan of the comics who read from issue one).
Comic book creator Neil Gaiman from Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
Gaiman talked about how happy he was that the story was finally coming to the screen in the right way, while the cast enthused about getting to play their various characters. There were the usual anecdotes – Tom Sturridge, who plays Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, was cast after hundreds of other actors were auditioned, while Gwendoline Christie plays Lucifer as a “junkie angel”.
Perhaps the biggest news to emerge was that artist Dave McKean – who created so many of the beautiful covers for the comics, but who had effectively retired from work on it – was back for the show. “Every episode has end-title credits, and it’s a different sequence for each episode,” said Gaiman, “this amazing, flowing film that Dave McKean made.”
Clips from a couple of episodes were screened, though as usual those were only for attendees. Netflix was gracious enough to put a new trailer online for everyone to see.
Tom Sturridge from Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
‘The Sandman’ will premiere on Netflix for its first season on August 5th.
Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’(L to R) Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death and Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’David Thewlis as Dr. John Dee in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Stephen Fry as Fiddler’s Green / Gilbert in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’Joely Richardson as Ethel Cripps in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
