Category Trailers

Feb 11 2024

Deadpool & The Pending MCU Comeback

By now most Marvel fans have seen the eagerly awaited trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, the sole offering from Marvel Studios this year. Just the fact that so many people were anticipating this trailer is alone to demonstrate that superhero fatigue is not necessarily upon us, especially when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Sure, the MCU and Marvel Studios had its struggles recently, as seen with failures of The Marvels and Secret Invasion and with behind-the-scenes dramas. However, the higher ups at Disney and Marvel Studios acknowledged that things were not working with the MCU and they took corrective actions. Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige took a long look at what was being filmed and realized that several projects were not working, at least up to MCU standards. As painful as it was, Feige delayed the release of projects like Daredevil: Born Again and Captain America: Brave New World to basically scrap what was filmed and start over. This is a costly gamble without any guarantee of success (see Solo: A Star Wars Story), but it had to be done. Disney also realized this and the fact that there was too much MCU product, which led to many projects been held back or cancelled. While many fans did not like this, it was what the MCU needed in order to 1) give the coming MCU projects the time to be improved and not rushed and 2) creating demand and anticipation for the projects.

During the past few months, the common theme among trades and the online was that the MCU and superhero films were in decline, given the fact that most superhero films in 2023 did not perform well. Another argument for the decline was the poor reception to the coming Sony films based on Spider-Man properties like Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter. But declaring the superhero films to be in decline may be premature. Of course, they are not as popular as they were around 2018-19, but at that period the Infinity Saga was reaching its climax and everyone wanted to know how the Avengers were going to defeat Thanos. In the years since, the MCU films have had to start all over again with a new storyline, the Multiverse Saga, which has had a rocky start due to many reasons. They range from the COVID-19 pandemic, the reign of Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who demanded too much MCU product and overstretched Marvel Studios, the writers and actors strike from last year, and the firing of actor Jonathan Majors, whose character Kang was supposed to be the next main MCU villain. Thankfully, many of them have been dealt with or are behind Disney and Marvel Studios.

As Marvel Studios reassessed what worked and what did not with its recent projects, the film studio had the time to tweak its upcoming projects to improve them. This has led to Kevin Feige taking more control of the MCU films and TV shows to ensure that the projects match the quality of the previous MCU films.

Now Disney and Marvel Studios have stated that they intend to focus on quality not quantity, which means they are scaling back on what they greenlight and not just any Marvel Comics property will make the transition to live-action. This is great because it allows the film studio to focus on its most popular characters and devote time and resources to more obscure characters to help them stand out (see Guardians of the Galaxy).

In the recent past, quality films and TV shows have found their audiences as seen with the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 and the second season of Loki. This will most likely occur with Deadpool & Wolverine given that it looks bonkers with its fourth-wall breaking and the zany and raunchy humor of Deadpool that does not seem watered down even though the film is from Disney. Deadpool & Wolverine could help change the direction that Marvel Studios is headed given its high anticipation. v

Also creating high anticipation for Marvel Studios is Daredevil: Born Again, which has excited many fans of the original Netflix production since it now features beloved characters from the Netflix shows. Then there is the over-the-top speculation on who will be cast in the Fantastic Four film coming out next year. Oh, and by the way, Marvel Studios: announce the cast already! Its not just the casting that has many excited about the Fantastic Four, but the fact that Kevin Feige is directly involved with the film and is a passion project for him given that past live-action efforts did not perform well.

Of course, another thing exciting fans is the coming of the X-Men in the MCU, which was teased in The Marvels and the mutants will be front and center in Deadpool & Wolverine. Frankly, it’s about time. Disney has had the rights to the X-Men characters for several years and although it was for the best that they took time for the memories of the Fox version of the X-Men films to dissipate, it’s time for them to appear in the MCU. Thankfully we’re getting that with Deadpool & Wolverine as the trailer clearly shows that not only do we see mutants but images of the MCU films and the Time Variance Authority from Loki.

Yes, it’s great to be excited about the MCU again and we have Deadpool & Wolverine to thank for that. Please, be great!

Jan 7 2023

Top Ten Most Anticipated Films & TV Shows

It’s 2023! A new year means listing which are the most anticipated upcoming films and TV shows. Keep in mind that several of the entries on this list will probably be delayed to next year or so. Also, note that not everything on the list will turn out to be any good (Transcendence anyone?), and some properties that don’t make the lists will be among this year’s best offerings. So with that…

2023 Films

10. Evil Dead Rise

The newest Evil Dead film has a new and interesting twist with its setting in an urban environment instead of the usual remote woods as seen with the previous films.

9. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

One of the first of many films delayed from last year will also be the final film of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Jason Momoa reprises his role of the Atlantean ruler and superhero for the last time.

8. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The trailers blew away many fans of the beloved video game franchise with its dazzling visuals that accurately adapted the fantasy world of the Mario Brothers. Let’s hope the actual film delivers an epic animated fantasy as promised by the trailers.

7. The Flash

Long delayed and hampered by behind-the-scenes calamities, The Flash will bring back Michael Keaton as Batman and probably set up a new cinematic universe thanks to the time traveling antics of the title hero.

6. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) kicks off with the third Ant-Man film that will be a huge event as it introduces the next big MCU uber foe, Kang the Conqueror.

5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

It’s the final outing for the great Harrison Ford as the legendary archaeologist. Taking place in the 1960s and featuring Nazis and mystical MacGuffins, this film looks like an exciting conclusion to the Indy Jones saga. However, without Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, the film has to deliver, but it probably will.  

4. 65

Adam Driver stars as a space explorer who crash lands on a primordial world and struggles to survive. The catch is he is on Earth 65 million years ago and dealing with deadly dinosaurs and the incoming doomsday comet that wiped out all dinosaurs. It’s a great concept for a film that promises lots of thrills and adventure.

3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The sequel to the classic animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse looks like an even wilder journey into the multiverse. The recent trailer had Miles Morales meeting more and fantastic versions of Spider-Man, including Spider-Man 2099. If it can match the groundbreaking nature of the original then we’ll have another animated classic.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3

Director James Gunn bids farewell to the MCU with his conclusion to the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. The trailer had many viewers reaching for their hankies as they beheld the final shots of the beloved and goofy Guardians. The film will close chapters with the Guardians while potentially opening up new ones with new heroes and villains.

1. Dune, Part Two

Visionary director Denis Villeneuve concludes his two-part adaptation of the classic Frank Herbert novel about Paul Atreides and his ascendance into a spiritual warrior and savior in the far future. Dune, Part One was instantly recognized as a groundbreaking and immersive sci-fi epic that properly captured the scope and nuance of the novel. We can only expect more of this with Dune, Part Two.

Other Upcoming Films:

Beau is Afraid; Blue Beetle; Distant; Elemental; Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel; Haunted Mansion;The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; Knock at the Cabin; The Marvels; Shazam! Fury of the Gods; True Love

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Sep 10 2022

D23 Expo 2022: A Great Disappointment For Marvel

For some time, fans expected the presentation by Marvel Studios at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) to pale when compared to this weekend’s D23 Expo 2022. The last D23 convention was jammed with exciting announcements about Marvel Studios. Being that D23 is prepared by Disney and devoted to its properties, one would think all mind-blowing announcements and presentations about Marvel Studios would be revealed at D23 after this summer’s SDCC. For weeks, the rumors have been flying fast about pending casting announcements for upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) projects. Supposedly, Deadpool 3 was to be announced with a special appearance by Ryan Reynolds; Henry Cavill, Denzel Washington, Jodie Comer, and numerous actors were to be announced as being cast for several MCU films and TV shows; the cast for the Fantastic Four would be revealed. Did any of that happen? NOPE.

There weren’t any major, new announcements, except that Matt Shankman has been officially announced as the director of the Fantastic Four film, and Armor Wars has been re-confirmed as going into production. The Marvel Studios presentation consisted of films and TV shows that we knew about. We did get some casting announcements such as Ke Huy Quan appearing in the second season of Loki, and that Tim Blake Nelson will appear in Captain America: New World Order as the Leader, With that last revelation does this mean that the Hulk will appear in Captain America: New World Order? The Leader is a Hulk villain, after all.

We did learn that a lot of footage and trailers were presented at D23 about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Echo, Loki, The Marvels, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Ironheart. Too bad, most of us cannot see them. Based on Twitter and other social media feeds by those lucky enough to have attended the presentation, the footage sounded great, but no one else could see the footage. All we received were TWO trailers. One for Secret Invasion, which has the look of a solid spy thriller, and Werewolf By Night, a one-shot film coming next month on Disney +. It is both surprising and concerning that Werewolf By Night will stream on October 7, less than a month from now, but it is only now we are seeing any footage. Honestly, the black-and-white trailer makes Werewolf By Night look very campy while evoking the mood of an old Universal horror film and a grindhouse film. But it could be good.

Perhaps the most intriguing news coming out of the Marvel presentation was the revelation of the Thunderbolts lineup. The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). Basically, the lineup seems like a reunion of cast members from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow, plus a return of a villain from Ant-Man and the Wasp. So, no Abomination or Baron Zemo as everyone expected. Still, just the inclusion of the Winter Soldier is enough to get excited over the Thunderbolts.

As it can be seen, there wasn’t any announcements about other MCU projects. No news on Blade, Deadpool 3, zilch about the X-Men, not even anything on the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which is supposed to be streaming in a few short months, or Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3. Keep in mind that an exclusive trailer for that film was shown already at SDCC. They could have at least released it to the general public.

Even if Disney could not show exclusive footage to the general public for their MCU projects, at least release an image. Let us see a better look at Namor or Kang! Releasing two trailers does not cut it.

On the other hand, the Star Wars presentation was better, with its highlight being the release of the trailer for the third season of The Mandalorian. With the Star Wars presentation, not everything was shown to the general public, but at least enough was released. Even the Disney animated films presentation from yesterday was more interesting.

Blame it on our unrealistic expectations and for giving in the hype and speculation, but aside from the few thousand people who attended D23, the Marvel Studios presentation was a disappointment for everyone else. This was the first live D23 since the pandemic and the excitement was wild, Disney could have made some exciting and surprising announcements on the level of Avengers: Secret Wars at SDCC, but nothing new was revealed. Overall, the Marvel presentation was almost as disappointing as the presentation by Warner Bros. about their upcoming DC films and TV shows at SDCC. Yes, that bad.

Disney definitely dropped the ball at D23 with Marvel Studios and the MCU. Hopefully, future conventions and presentations will improve, but we should temper our expectations and be realistic.

Jul 24 2022

The MCU Returns To Comic-Con

San Diego Comic-Con made a huge return this weekend after a couple of years of inactivity thanks to the pandemic. Demonstrating that life in geekdom was returning to normal were all the presentations by and appearances of countless companies and individuals for the genre properties we love.

The big news this weekend at Comic-Con was the bigger-than-exptected splash made by Marvel Studios about their upcoming properties. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige appeared in Hall H of the convention and made several exciting announcements, which included the revelation that Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will end this year with the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. By the way, the presentation for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was quite emotional given the loss of Chadwick Boseman. However, the trailer released for the film was exciting with the reveal of Namor the Submariner and the Atlanteans.

Phase Five of the MCU starts next year with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on February 17, 2023, and concludes on July 26, 2024 with Thunderbolts (Marvel’s version of the Suicide Squad). Other films and TV shows, which will stream on Disney+, during Phase Five include Secret Invasion (spring 2023), Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3 (May 5, 2023, and by the way the leaked images of a baby Rocket Raccoon were adorable!), The Marvels (July 28, 2023), Echo (summer 2023), Ironheart (fall 2023), Blade (November 3, 2023), Agatha: Coven of Chaos (winter 2023), Captain America: New World Order (May 3, 2024), and Daredevil: Born Again (spring 2024). The last two entries were the most exciting announcements as the fourth Captain America will feature Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) who takes up the mantle of Captain America, while the new Daredevil TV series will have Charlie Cox resuming the title role he originated in the Netflix series. Fans have been teased about Daredevil with Matt Murdock’s appearance in last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, and even more enticed by his quick cameo in the latest trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The She-Hulk series looks like fun, even though some of the CG still looks sketchy.

However, Feige was not finished. He announced the most important Phase Six MCU films, and the sixth phase will begin with Fantastic Four on November 8, 2024 and continue on and conclude with two Avengers films! Avengers: The Kang Dynasty on May 2, 2025 and Avengers: Secret Wars on November 7, 2025.

Of course, there are significant gaps in the release schedule for unannounced projects, which could go to future Spider-Man films or something to do with the X-Men. Keep in mind, that despite all the buzz going into Comic-Con there was not an official announcement that Deadpool would join the MCU and not a word was mentioned about possible followups to successful Phase Four properties like Doctor Strange or Shang-Chi. But more information will be revealed in the September 10, 2022 D23 Expo. Perhaps the cast and director of Fantastic Four will be announced by then or it will be revealed that the Russo Brothers will direct the new Avengers films.

When it comes to Spider-Man, aside from some details on the upcoming animated series Spider-Man: Freshman Year (which won’t take place in the MCU), there weren’t any annoucements by Sony Pictures, who owns the film rights to Spider-Man, about the future of the MCU Spider-Man. However, given the mammoth success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, a fourth MCU Spider-Man is inevitable, as are the future hot garbage Sony is filming like Kraven, El Muerto, and Madame Web.

Surely, there were other huge announcements at Comic-Con that did not deal with Marvel or the MCU, but they paled compared to Marvel Studios. It should be noted that Marvel Studios’ rival, Warner Bros. Discovery had a presentation about their DC film properties, which turned out to be a bit of a dud hampered with controversy. One of the big rumors going into Comic-Con was that Henry Cavill would appear or there would be an announcement that the actor would return to play Superman in either Black Adam or an upcoming DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film. But the actor was a no show, which melted the internet as furious fans lamented about this and the fact that the only involvement director Zack Snyder will have with DC properties will be an appearance in the animated show Teen Titans Go! The only revelations made about the DCEU were two trailers for Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. But nothing about upcoming DCEU projects like Blue Beetle and The Flash. It’s a shame because both DCEU trailers were very well done. Perhaps if Warner Bros. Discovery puts out another DC Fandome with more and substantial announcements then all will be forgiven, but to date there is not any information about a DC Fandome for this year.

Getting back to Marvel Studios and the MCU, the announcements were expected, but a pleasant surprise when they were officially announced. What was unexpected was that the early films of Phase Five were anticipated to be part of Phase Four, which seems to have ended prematurely. This could be because of the mixed reaction to Phase Four and a decision could have been made to end it soon in order to give fans a sense of starting over with more alluring and crowdpleasing films and TV shows in the next phase. So, even though Phase Four of the MCU turned out to be a mixed bag, fans can put that behind and look forward to what awaits with Phase Five, Six and beyond.

Apr 4 2022

Morbius: When Trailers Deceive Us

By now, most of us have heard about Morbius and how it wildly differed from what the trailers promised. Namely, solid connections with Spider-Man or even the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). But what we got was downright deceptive.

For some time now, there have been grumblings by filmgoers and fans about how what was shown in trailers never showed up in the final films. Some recent examples include the famous charge of the heroes in the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, which prominently showed a very large and angry Hulk charging along with the other Avengers and allies. But as we saw in the film, the Hulk only appeared briefly in the film’s opening moments and the scene of the charging Avengers was nowhere to be found.

Another example was in the recent Spider-Man: No Way Home which digitally removed the other Spider-Men taking part in battling the many foes or alternate scenes with Doctor Strange that did not make it to the final film.

A big reason for these deceptions is because of spoilers. A decision was made for Spider-Man: No Way Home to keep the revelations about the other Spider-Men a surprise, even though this was the worst kept secret in Hollywood. In another case, for a trailer for Thor: Ragnarok, the God of Thunder was shown in channeling electricity with two eyes flaring with energy. However, when this happened in the film, Thor by this point, lost an eye while battling Hela.

Another reason for the deception is not that the films were intentionally deceiving viewers but rather the clips in the trailers failed to make the final cut of the films. This points to what probably happened with Morbius.

In the trailers for Morbius there were several scenes establishing the existence of Spider-Man in the world of Morbius. A great example is that clip of Morbius walking past a poster of Spider-Man with the word “Murderer” sprayed over the poster. This led to wild speculation if this film took place in the MCU given Spider-Man’s predicament or in the non-MCU Spider-Man films where the character underwent a dark chapter that we have not seen.

There were also a couple of scenes showing Adrian Toomes/Vulture (played by Michael Keaton) interacting with Morbius, which led to more speculation. But alas, none of this happened or was seen in the final film, which had zero Spider-Man connections until the post-credits scenes. Without going into spoilers, these scenes did not make any sense.

Obviously, eager Spider-Man fans were sorely disappointed by the final cut of Morbius. The question remains is how long will film studios and their marketing departments continue to deceive filmgoers? Yes, the audiences have to consider that usually when a trailer is released the film has not been completed, so they cannot expect to see every shot in a trailer to show up in a film. They also have to consider that studios want to leave some surprises for fans. But to outright tease connections to the world of Spider-Man and the MCU and deliver nonsenscal post-credit scenes is an insult to fans. What will happen is that fans will eventually tune out trailers and the enthusiasm for these films will diminish, and this could ultimately impact the box office. Being that this is the thing that matters most to film studios, they have to take heed about how they burn fans with deceptive trailers.