“Legacies is set at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted. It’s gonna remind you of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The show is leaning into those comparisons.
Here’s what Matt Davis (Alaric Saltzman) told TV Guide of his role as Salvatore school headmaster:
“He’s taking on a new set of responsibilities. He genuinely is coming from a place of love. He’s somewhere between Professor X and Dumbledore.”
TV Guide debuted the first trailer, giving us a glimpse of boarding school life:
“Legacies” premieres October 25, and boss Julie Plec said the first few episodes “play into what’s going on with the school and the town of Mystical falls.” There’s a rivalry between the local high school and the kids at Alaric’s private school.
As TV Guide revealed, “Jeremy has kept busy as a hunter and something brings him back to Mystic Falls this season.” Plec added: “He’s out in the field. He’ll pop up in a couple of episodes.” Last we heard, Steven R. McQueen was popping up in Episode 3.
The CW
Plec seems to be using “Legacies” to return to her original ideas for “The Vampire Diaries”:
“This show is what The Vampire Diaries was before it became TVD. Everything I always thought TVD would be, I was able to circle back and bring to here.”
Sound good to you? Check out the first photos from “Legacies,” and watch the magic happen Thursday, October 25 at 9/8c on The CW.
“Venom” finally hits theaters this week, and this Spider-Man spinoff will answer one important question: Are superhero fans willing to turn out for movies that focus on the villains of the Marvel Universe for a change?
We hope so, because there are plenty of Marvel villains who deserve the spotlight after Eddie Brock. Here are our top candidates.
Doctor Doom
Marvel
Doctor Doom is widely revered as one of the greatest villains in all of superhero comics, yet he’s never really been given his due on the big screen. That’s putting it politely.
Rather than waste time with another Fantastic Four origin movie, we want to see the proud ruler of Latveria succeed on his own term for a change. “Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley is reportedly developing a Doom solo movie, but with Disney buying Fox, we’re afraid that project may be falling through the cracks.
The Enchantress
Marvel
The Thor movies have done a pretty respectable job of cycling through the god of thunder’s rogues gallery, even if that means some of them don’t quite get the attention they deserve (*cough* Surtur *cough*). At this point, the biggest villain yet to be given her due is The Enchantress, a powerful sorceress with an unhealthy obsession with Thor.
We think that unrequited love would make for a great starting point as the movie explores what it’s like to be an Asgardian outcast. And if the movie serves as an excuse to bring back Karl Urban’s Skurge, so much the better.
Kang the Conqueror
Marvel
Few villains have tormented the Avengers as regularly or as viciously as Kang. This futuristic tyrant has mastered the art of time travel and used it to make himself master of the world in various timelines.
The time travel element could result in a really entertaining, mind-bending storyline. And there’s no need to really bring the Avengers into the picture. Because Kang has taken many forms and many identities in his unnaturally long life, he can serve as his own worst enemy. Pit idealistic teen hero Iron Lad against the tyrannical Kang and you’ve got yourself a Marvel movie.
Sabretooth
Marvel
For as many X-Men movies as Fox has churned out over the last two decades, they haven’t made much use of the franchise’s key villains outside of Magneto and a handful of others. Sabretooth is an especially painful case, as Fox completely squandered the opportunity to flesh out Wolverine’s #1 rival in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” This time, we want to see a solo Sabretooth movie that really gets into the back-story of how Victor Creed turned into such a remorseless killer.
Kingpin
Marvel/Netflix
Sure, Wilson Fisk has been getting plenty of screen time on “Marvel’s Daredevil,” with the villain set to play another major role in the upcoming third season. But even with all that exposure, we still want to see more of old Willy.
A feature film would allow Marvel to shine a spotlight on the struggles of establishing a criminal empire in the Marvel Universe. We say keep Vincent D’Onofrio in the lead role, but this time pit him against Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man instead of Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil for a change.
Doctor Octopus
Marvel
As far as Spider-Man movie villains go, none can rival Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus in “Spider-Man 2.” That’s a tough act to follow, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty more that can be accomplished with the character.
As “Spider-Man 2” showed us, he’s a compelling and sympathetic character regardless of his connection to Spider-Man. There’s even potential in an adaptation of the series “Superior Spider-Man,” wherein a dying Otto Octavius hijacks Peter Parker’s body and tries to prove himself a more capable hero. If Sony wants to do a Doc Ock movie set outside the MCU, that might be the direction to go.
Maestro
Marvel
Marvel has clearly given up on trying to do solo Hulk movies. We don’t necessarily blame them, but it would be a shame if Hulk was doomed to forever be a supporting player in other character’s movies. Why not shake things up and make a movie about Maestro instead?
Maestro is an evil version of Hulk from an alternate future, one who’s much stronger and much smarter than his heroic counterpart. We’d love a good post-apocalyptic movie where a bearded Hulk lords over the ruins of a once shining Marvel Universe. Bring some “Mad Max” into the MCU.
Magneto
Fox
We know what you’re thinking. Isn’t Magneto the one X-Men villain who’s been treated right by Fox’s movies? Yes, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve more time in the spotlight. At one point, Fox was planning a Magneto origin movie (before “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” swiftly killed that series).
As it is, X-Men: First Class” is at its best early on, when the focus is on the relationship between Magneto and Charles Xavier and the former’s slow evolution from tortured Holocaust survivor to supervillain. Make that the focal point of a movie and use it to introduce a brand-new Magneto into the MCU.
Taskmaster
Marvel
The Marvel Universe is crammed full of elite, super-powered assassins, but none are deadlier or more entertaining than Taskmaster. This flamboyantly dressed villain has the power of photographic reflexes. He can mimic the fighting style of any person he watches, allowing him to throw a shield like Captain America or slice up ninja goons like Wolverine. The drawback to that is that his memories are constantly fading to make room for all that new data.
That dilemma is the perfect launching point for a Taskmaster movie. Tasky would be great as the antagonist in a “Deadpool” sequel, but we’d just as soon see him as the protagonist instead.
Emma Frost
Marvel
To date, the X-Men franchise has given us two wildly different takes on Emma Frost, one abysmal and one kinda okay. Maybe the third time will be the charm? There’s a huge amount of untapped potential with this character. In the comics, she’s hard to pin down as either hero or villain, as she’s both opposed the X-Men as a member of the Hellfire Club and joined the X-Men for extended periods.
On the surface, she likes to project an aura of calm, detached authority, but there are real flaws beneath her diamond exterior. Flaws that would make for a very compelling X-Men spinoff.
Kraven the Hunter
Marvel
Kraven is pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to powerful Spider-Man villains, yet he’s come closer than almost any of them to actually killing the wallcrawler. One of the most accomplished hunters in the world, Sergei Kravinoff devoted himself to taking down the ultimate superhuman prey.
We’d love to see a movie that adapts “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” a seminal story where a dying Kraven buries Spidey alive and becomes Spider-Man himself. That’s one way to justify a Spider-Man spinoff without having Spidey in it.
The good news is that a Kraven movie is one of several in the pipeline at Sony, so it could happen in the next few years.
The still-in-the-works standalone “Gambit” movie starring Channing Tatum will take a page from the star’s “Magic Mike” movies and dial up the sex and romance, according to producer Simon Kinberg.
“When you look at Gambit, he’s a hustler and a womanizer and we just felt like there was an attitude, a swagger to him, that lent itself to romantic comedy,” he told IGN.
A “Gambit” film has been in development for what feels like decades. In the comics, the fan-favorite Cajun character is a card-throwing former thief who has an on-again, off-again relationship with Rogue.
Kinberg — who wrote and directed the upcoming “Dark Phoenix” — explained that the movie won’t be a straight-up rom-com. It’s still a superhero movie, after all, and within the “X-Men” franchise.
“You know, when I say romantic comedy, I use that term loosely, in the same term that I use the term western for ‘Logan’ loosely. It’s not like they’re gunslingers at high noon in ‘Logan.’ It’s just a vibe,” he said.
“And I would say the vibe of Gambit has a romantic or sex comedy vibe to it. While it is also still very much a superhero movie with villains and heroes, as all these movies are.”
As for the movie actually getting made, Kinberg gave a promising update. “‘Gambit’ has a great script and we’re looking to start that movie early next year.”
In DARK PHOENIX, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.
Sophie Turner was indeed on “The Late Late Show” Wednesday night:
Sophie Turner teased the trailer debut, which will happen during her appearance tonight (Wednesday to Thursday) on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on CBS.
Her announcement came with a mini teaser, with a gorgeous backdrop:
The “Dark Phoenix” saga follows telepath Jean Grey’s battle with her own mind.
Back in December, Sophie Turner told EW she studied multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia in order to play Jean’s duality. “So many scenes I have to go from broken-down Jean — that’s when she’s most susceptible to Phoenix infiltrating her — to this confident, arrogant, judgmental character within milliseconds.”
The “Dark Phoenix” cast told EW this movie — set in 1992, almost 10 years after “X-Men: Apocalypse” — is the most emotional “X-Men” movie yet.
Watch the first trailer tonight, and see the full film on Valentine’s Day.
McAvoy has had a fantastic career so far, but if he stopped everything in its tracks and only ever played young Patrick Stewart in everything — we’d be fine with it. He’d be a hero.
Patrick Stewart plays the senior Charles Xavier in Fox’s “X-Men” films, with James McAvoy later joining the franchise as the young Professor X.
Stewart just started filming his return to Captain Jean-Luc Picard for his new CBS All Access “Star Trek” series, sharing this photo:
The new Picard series has yet to announce a premiere date on CBS All Access. Better book McAvoy fast, though, since he has a busy year coming up promoting “Glass,” the “It” sequel, and “X-Men: Dark Phoenix.”
Comic book fans don’t normally pay close attention to corporate acquisitions, but now that Marvel Studios and Fox’s Marvel properties are in the same family, that means potential X-Men/Deadpool/Fantastic Four crossovers with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Avengers.
Marvel Studios
THR asked Iger about that, and got confirmation that Marvel Studios/MCU boss Kevin Feige is going to run the whole combined Marvel show:
How is Marvel going to absorb Fox’s X-Men franchise? Is Kevin Feige going to oversee everything?
I think it only makes sense. I want to be careful here because of what’s been communicated to the Fox folks, but I think they know. It only makes sense for Marvel to be supervised by one entity. There shouldn’t be two Marvels.
So Deadpool could become an Avenger?
Kevin’s got a lot of ideas. I’m not suggesting that’s one of them. But who knows?
20th Century Fox
In Feige We Trust.
On to “Star Wars.” The “Star Wars” franchise is hardly in trouble, but the excitement of the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” awakening the galaxy has already led to some fatigue and frustration. The disappointing box office of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was blamed, in part, on just too many Star Wars movies coming out on top of each other.
Many believe Disney should pump the breaks and not put out a Star Wars movie each year.
I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [‘Game of Thrones’ creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about. And we are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s. But I think we’re gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that.
“More careful about volume and timing.” So fewer films, and those films will have more breathing room between them to build anticipation. Not sure what that might mean for upcoming standalone films after “Rogue One” and “Solo,” but it doesn’t sound that promising.
Lucasfilm
Iger also talked a bit about Disney’s upcoming streaming service, which is expected to launch in late 2019. There’s a lot to chew on in Iger’s THR Q&A, and since Disney pretty much touches every aspect of the pop culture univese, he has a lot of say in what we watch and when — and where — we get to watch it.
You probably read the news a few months back about the “X-Men” film being delayed three months. Fox moved the release from November 2018 to February 2019 to accommodate some reshoots.
The reshoots were reportedly focused on the third act, which needed “some reworking.” The problem was getting the gigantic cast back together amid their gigantic busy schedules — including Sophie Turner (Jean Grey) with the final season of “Game of Thrones,” and Jessica Chastain playing a new villain while also filming the “It” sequel. The earliest anyone could gather was reportedly August or September. So here they are.
According to ScreenRant, reshoots have finally started in Montreal and they’re expected to last for about 2.5 weeks. The first set photos have emerged, showing Jessica Chastain’s mysterious villain trying to choke Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey:
Both actresses are wearing motion capture suits, for visual effects to be added later. The scene may ultimately show Turner in full Phoenix mode. Whatever happens, it sounds like this is a glimpse of a major battle ahead.
Entertainment Weekly put “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” on its cover back in December 2017, showing the first photos from the movie. At the time, Jessica Chastain’s very blonde big bad was described as a “quiet but brutal” villain, an otherwordly shapeshifter who manipulates Phoenix for her own agenda.
20th Century Fox, via EW
“Dark Phoenix” follows telepath Jean’s battle with her own mind. The movie is set in 1992, EW reported, about 10 years after “X-Men: Apocalypse,” and opens with X-Men Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters) as national heroes. After the X-Men are sent to space on a rescue mission, “a solar flare hits the X-Jet and the surge of energy ignites a malevolent, power-hungry new force within Jean — the Phoenix.”
“X-Men: Dark Phoenix” is scheduled for release in theaters on February 14th, 2019. Yes, Valentine’s Day.
Never bet against Mickey and the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
Comcast announced Thursday morning that it was dropping out of the race to buy 21st Century Fox assets. That’s a big win for Disney, although the fight is not yet won. In a movie, this would be the climactic moment, but in real life these legal battles are long and rather dull.
A remaining snag is that Comcast still wants to bid for British broadcaster Sky, which Disney is also trying to buy through 21st Century Fox. So that will continue for a while.
But still! The BIG deal appears to be official.
Comcast had offered $65 billion cash to top Disney’s initial offer. Disney countered with $71.3 billion in cash/stock. There was an issue with regional sports networks, and Disney agreed to sell those off to get Department of Justice approval. Comcast was expected to make another offer, but instead they’re moving on and focusing on Sky.
According to CNN, Rupert Murdoch’s empire will retain its broadcast, news and national sports programming, including Fox News, Fox Business and Fox Sports. The new company, known as “New Fox,” will be headed by Lachlan Murdoch.
Here’s a statement from Comcast chief Brian Roberts, ceding victory to Disney:
“I’d like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company.”
This means it’s really happening: Fox’s Marvel characters like the X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four will be in the same family as the MCU Avengers.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had said we would be “years away” from any X-Men/Avengers integration, even if the deal went through. He’s already planned MCU movies for several years into the future. But now he has even more options to play with.
