How the Spider-Man: Far From Home Writers Crafted a Swinging Summer Hit
They first worked together on TV satire American Dad, then mastered the dysfunctional dark comedy of Community before breaking into features by subverting superhero conventions with their neurotic title character in The Lego Batman Movie. Now, screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna are riding high as the team who scripted Spider-Man: Far From Home. The rare summer hit that’s won over critics as well as audiences,
From The Dark Crystal to Pennyworth: Our Comic-Con TV Round-Up
Television series stars and creators came to San Diego Comic-Con to talk about new and returning shows. Here are some of the most intriguing announcements and previews we caught:
Undone (Amazon Prime) is a stunning new animated series as far from the usual computer-generated images as it can be; every background is a hand-painted oil painting and all of the characters are photographed and rotoscoped. Composer Amie Doherty said that she created “a super-organic score to match the beautiful,
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Crew Promises Mind-Melting Final Shot
We got a glimpse at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s new Sith Trooper at Comic-Con, but that was hardly the only news from a galaxy far, far away coming out of San Diego. One tidbit that deserves extra scrutiny comes from writer/director Kevin Smith, who was at the Con to show off his upcoming film Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Smith is not only a filmmaker,
Tom Hanks is Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood‘s First Trailer
Morgan Neville’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor gave us insight into the late, great Fred Rogers only a year ago. The documentary felt like a sorely needed corrective on our current climate of anxiety, anger, and otherism. The life and work of Fred Rogers was essentially one long campaign for a better world, with Mr. Rogers focusing his heroic goodness, his belief that everyone is equal and worthy of respect,
Kevin Feige Confirms More LGBTQ Characters in Marvel’s Phase 4
We’ve known for quite a while that Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie was a member of the LGBTQ community. The talented actress said it herself. But Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed that Thompson’s butt-kicking heroine (and, as revealed in Avengers: Endgame, the Queen of New Asgard) isn’t the only LGBTQ character that will have a big role in Marvel’s Phase 4.
Thompson joined Feige and a huge slew of talent at San Diego Comic-Con on the stage of Hall H to discuss Phase 4.
Marvel Reveals Two-Time Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali is Blade
When Wesley Snipes starred in Stephen Norrington’s Blade in 1998 as the half-vampire, half-mortal protector of humanity, superhero movies were in something of a middle period. The late 70s through the 80s had brought us some legendary comic-book films, most notably Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman and Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. Those films were a touch campy, but also technically brilliant and gorgeously constructed. By the time Blade hit in 1998,
Netflix’s The Witcher Cast Talks Monsters at San Diego Comic-Con
There’s a new fantasy epic headed to the small screen and San Diego Comic-Con got a first glimpse of its dark and mysterious world.
Netflix revealed the first trailer for its new epic monster fantasy The Witcher after a Hall H panel on Friday. The show, based on popular books by Andrzej Sapkowski, is centered around Geralt, a warrior (or “witcher”) trained since childhood to show no emotion and kill monsters.
Marvel Reveals Phase 4 at San Diego Comic-Con
Marvel Studios executive producer Victoria Alonso was so excited about revealing “Phase 4” of the Marvel cinematic universe that she sang rather than share spoilers ahead of the highly-anticipated panel in San Diego Comic Con’s largest forum, Hall H.
“So much that I can’t say,” she told a smaller audience earlier in the day during a “Women of Marvel” panel. She broke into the choruses of “Hooked on a Feeling” followed by “I’m So Excited.”
Alonso did not overhype the revelations of Marvel’s primetime panel.
Shahadi Wright Joseph on Becoming the Young Nala in The Lion King
Young Nala in Disney’s new remake of The Lion King (which opens today) might be a lioness cub, but she’s nothing less than a princess. After all, Nala grows up to be Queen, at which she’s played by none other than Beyoncé. But the young Nala, voiced by 14-year-old Shahadi Wright Joseph, is very much in the tradition of feisty young Disney heroines from Mulan to Frozen’s Elsa to Brave’s Merida.
The First Trailer for Cats Reveals Wildly Ambitious VFX Musical
While Tom Hooper’s Cats is based on the legendary, long-running Broadway musical, you will not be watching stars made up to look like cats. Hooper has instead deployed the latest performance-capture technology to turn his star-studded cast into cats. This means the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, and James Corden will be felines. Their faces will be recognizable, but instead of having pasted whiskers and painted cat noses,
HBO’s His Darkest Materials Trailer Roars at SDCC
With Game of Thrones now officially over (with a record-breaking 32 Emmy nominations for its final season), HBO is officially moving into their post-Thrones programming. One of their new series with huge potential is their adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy series His Dark Materials. They’ve debuted the first trailer at San Diego Comic-Con, and it sure looks lush, bold, and beautifully done.
We’ll be curious what the folks who have read Pullman’s novels think about this first look,
Tom Cruise Returns to the Cockpit in Top Gun: Maverick Trailer
We published a story way back last September about how Top Gun: Maverick would be utilizing some of the Navy’s most technologically advanced fighter jets. We spoke to Naval Air Forces spokesman Commander Ronald Flanders, who told us, “Much like the first film, these are going to be real jets and real U.S. Naval aviators flying in these scenes. We’re excited about it.” Flanders added that the film “captured the most advanced carrier aircraft.”
The Second Trailer for It: Chapter Two is Even Better Than the First
Last night Warner Bros. kicked off San Diego Comic-Con with their ScareDiego event, highlighting Andy Muschietti‘s It: Chapter Two. The event included three fresh clips, a panel discussion with Muschietti and cast members James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Jay Ryan, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, and James Ransone, hosted by Conan O’Brien, and a brand new trailer. Well, now we’ve got that trailer for your viewing pleasure.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s Sith Trooper Introduced at SDCC
As we wrote last week, there’s going to be a new kind of Stormtrooper in J.J Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Enter the Sith Trooper, which boasts blood-red armor and a black blaster. Also, a name that conjures the galaxy’s greatest villains, from Darth Vader to Count Dooku to Darth Maul. The Sith Trooper looks a bit like a mash-up of the new designs for Stormtroopers introduced in Abrams’
Ad Astra‘s Second Trailer Reveals Brad Pitt’s Epic Sci-Fi Drama
Writer/director James Gray is a man who makes very good films, and he takes his time on each one. Two Lovers (2008), The Immigrant (2013) and The Lost City of Z (2016) couldn’t have been more different from one another, yet each bore the mark of Gray’s meticulous craft. With Ad Astra, which he co-wrote with Ethan Gross, Gray has turned his attention to the great beyond,
It: Chapter Two Reveals Terrifying Footage at San Diego Comic-Con
Warner Bros. officially kicked off San Diego Comic-Con 2019 at Spreckles Theater with footage from Andy Muschietti‘s It: Chapter Two. Their ScareDiego event also included a Q&A hosted by Conan O’Brien with Muschietti and stars James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Jay Ryan, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, and James Ransone.
The presentation kicked off with a new trailer (it’ll be released later today) as well as three brand new clips.
Henry Cavill’s on a Horse in new Image From The Witcher
The last time we checked in on Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), he was a man without a horse. Netflix released a slew of images from their upcoming adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy series The Witcher, but none included the most beloved character of all—Roach the horse. Well, Netflix heard our cries of anguish and they delivered. Behold, Geralt and his loyal companion!
You begged, we delivered. Here’s your first look at Roach!
Game of Thrones Breaks Long-Standing Emmy Record With 32 Nominations
Game of Thrones has made history—again. The 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced, and HBO’s epic series, which came to a close this past May 19, hauled in a historic 32 nominations, breaking NYPD Blue‘s record for most noms in a single season. Emilia Clarke nabbed one for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Kit Harington for Lead Actor, with Supporting Actress nominations going to Sophie Turner,
Chris Evans Leads Excellent Cast in Netflix’s The Red Sea Diving Resort
Now that Chris Evans has officially handed off his shield as Captain America, we’ll be seeing him in fresh roles in new films. We’ve already gotten a peak at one of his upcoming projects, Rian Johnson’s murder mystery ensemble film Knives Out. That movie looks like an absolute hoot. Now a new trailer from Netflix reveals another of Evans’ upcoming movies, The Red Sea Diving Resort. Inspired by a true story,
Taika Waititi Returning to Write & Direct Thor 4
Today in good news, Taika Waititi is returning to write and direct a follow-up to his fantastic 2017 Marvel entry Thor: Ragnarok. The Hollywood Reporter broke the story that the multi-talented Waititi has inked a deal to keep building on his Thor franchise-reshaping Ragnarok, which took advantage of Chris Hemsworth’s comedic chops and turned his previously more serious Asgardian God of Thunder into one of Marvel’s funniest leading men.
