We had San Diego Comic-Con this weekend to there is plenty of news to go around, along with a number of new trailers. As this is posted, it is still wrapping up today. If anything especially noteworthy comes out after this post goes out, I will either update this one or put out a new blog. Let’s get to it. Note this won’t be all Comic-Con related news.
Disney fires director James Gunn
In potentially the biggest news of the past week, James Gunn has been fired as director of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Old tweets of his were brought to light, and Disney made the immediate decision to fire the director. The tweets were years old, some approaching a decade. But if you read them (there is a link in the article linked to here), you’ll see they were gross and indefensible. But this does bring an interesting point: Should there be any “statute of limitations” of sorts on this kind of thing? Especially as many celebrities have come to Gunn’s defense in the wake of his firing. It will be interesting to see how this story progresses.
21 of Kevin’s 24 personalities to appear on-screen in Glass
During his Comic-Con panel, M. Knight Shyamalan revealed to the audience that we will be seeing even more of Kevin’s personalities in the upcoming Glass. James McAvoy crushed it in Split, portraying the Kevin Wendell Crumb, he of 24 personalities. While I have complete faith that McAvoy can handle this, I am a bit worried as to how it will play into the story. It would be asking a lot of the audience to keep track of so many “characters within a character” and it could get quite confusing. But it could play out as some sort of battle for control between the personalities, where the movie shows quick flashes of different personalities going in and out.
Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown added to Frozen 2 cast
The Westworld and This is Us stars are set to join the sequel to Disney’s mega hit Frozen. No word yet on what their roles will be. But I don’t think it’s going to matter. They will crush it no matter what. The sequel, with returning stars Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Josh Gad, is set to open November 27, 2019.
Warner Bros. announces title and release date for Joker origin movie
The Todd Phillips-directed project will be titled simply Joker and has been given a release date of October 4, 2019. The movie, and it’s low $55 million budget, is set to begin production later this year.
Animated Wizard of Oz in the works; to be told from Toto’s perspective
Only mentioning this news because of how iconic the source material is. But for now all I have to say is “Why?”
Timothée Chalamet in talks to star in Denis Villeneuve-directed Dune adaptation
The young rising star will take the lead in the reboot of the 1984 sci-fi flick. With Villeneuve directing and Chalamet attached, the hype for this movie should be about to take off.
New trailers
Patient Zero
An apocalyptic world faced with a zombie-like pandemic. One man is able to communicate with the so-called “Infected” and leads a group of survivors on a journey to find a Patient Zero, and hopefully a cure. Looks interesting enough, but these kinds of movies aren’t typically my jam. Natalie Dormer is great, though, so maybe that will be enough to set this one apart somewhat.
New Robin Hood trailer
I really want this movie to be good. But something about it just screams “bust.” I bet Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx will at least give good performances — Egerton seems tailor-made for this kind of role. So even if it doesn’t end up being a particularly great movie, at least it could end up being a fun one.
New Bohemian Rhapsody trailer
Queen was really before my time. I mean of course I know some of their bigger songs. But this movie doesn’t create the same level of excitement for me that it rightfully does for those who grew up on their music. That being said, I do love a good musical. While this won’t be an actual “musical” there will still be a number of great musical moments. With some of the bangers this movie will be sure to feature, it should be an awesome theater-going experience.
Boy Erased
Oof. Looks like this one is going to pack an emotional wallop. It’s based on the memoir of Garrad Conley, telling his story of being sent to gay conversion therapy. But with the heavy hitters leading the way — Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman along with Academy Award nominee Lucas Hedges — I’m expecting a great, powerful film.
Welcome to Marwen 2nd trailer
Steve Carell is recalling coming for that Oscar. Between this and Beautiful Boy, he might have two legitimate shots at a Best Actor nomination. In addition to Carell seemingly being dialed in, Welcome to Marwen looks fantastic. I mean that in terms of the overall movie, sure, but also visually. The effects shown in the trailer are awesome. This should be one of the more visually impressive movies of recent years.
Second Act
I’ll (try) wait until the next trailer comes out before settling in my opinion. But for now, I only have one word: Hard pass. Okay, two words. But that second one was necessary. At least it has Milo Ventimiglia?
Glass
Yep, all in here. Looks like James McAvoy is sliding right into a repeat performance from Split. And he was awesome in that role, so I’m pumped for that. And Anya Taylor-Joy returns; she was solid in Split. Plus she was great in Thoroughbreds so I’m all aboard the ATJ train.
Aquaman trailer
Alright, here we go, DC. Now this looks like a movie I can get behind. DC’s troubles are no secret, so it is vital that this movie is good. The first trailer gets it off to a pretty good start. Not all of the effects looked great here, but there is still time to get those issues fine-tuned before its release in December.
Shazam! trailer
Whoops, I may have spoken too soon on DC. This movie looks…not very good. If this was Marvel, or literally any other studio, I would probably give them the benefit of the doubt here. But it’s a Warner Bros. DC movie, so if the first look is bad, that’s the impression I’m sticking with. At least the DC movies are finally going to have some fun – or try to, at least. But my expectations are extremely low right now. We’ll see if that changes as new footage and information comes out as its release date gets closer.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer
Now this was great premiere trailer. The 2014 predecessor was solid if unspectacular. But this looks like it could end up being a darn good movie. The cast is fantastic, with Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler, Vera Farming, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Ken Watanabe. And we’ll see the titular monster face off with a number of other legendary monsters. It should make for a fun (if wildly destructive) ride.
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindewald new trailer
Yes, give me all of this. Just inject it straight into my veins. Anything Harry Potter is going to get me wildly excited. Although I do have to admit I have a bit of trepidation. Some of the effects on the beasts shown in this trailer weren’t exactly inspiring. But like Aquaman, there is still time to get those issues ironed out before its release. But my main issue is concerning how the series will maintain its tension up until its fifth and final film. Since we know how long the series will be, we can safely assume the fifth entry will feature the legendary duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald (I’m already penciling that in as one of my all-time favorite cinematic moments). But how will these next three movies get us there? From what know so far, it seems as though Grindelwald will be heavily featured going forward. Now obviously the original series had a similar set up with Voldemort and that worked out just fine. I just hope that they can find suitable “mini battles” if you will in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movies.
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