Sabtu, 31 Agustus 2019

Apparently Johnny Depp's Return For Fantastic Beasts 3 Isn't Official Yet

Apparently Johnny Depp's Return For Fantastic Beasts 3 Isn't Official Yet
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Johnny Depp Grindelwald

Johnny Depp is still currently expected to continue as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3 and the rest of the planned five-film franchise. However, on the heels of Warner Bros. delaying Fantastic Beasts 3 production again, but finally giving the movie a confirmed release date, word has come that Depp has yet to officially sign on for the 2021 movie.


This is one of those anonymous source situations, so stay in a skeptical Hermione mindset. That said, "a source close to Johnny Depp" told The Blast the actor has not been approached by the studio yet to exercise the option in his contract for Fantastic Beasts 3. The site said Depp does have a contract through the five-film franchise but, like the rest of the stars, his option for each movie is handled separately by Warner Bros.


What does that mean? Maybe nothing, especially without knowing the situations of the other main cast members. But The Blast also brought up Johnny Depp's legal issues -- specifically the ugly back-and-forth abuse allegations with ex-wife Amber Heard. The site said it too had been told a few Warner Bros. execs were pushing for Depp to be fired from Fantastic Beasts, but many of the "heavy hitters" have maintained full support.




One of those heavy hitters is said to be J.K. Rowling herself, and the Harry Potter author already made it clear before The Crimes of Grindelwald came out that she was fully supportive of Johnny Depp.


The very public issues between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been going on so long that his casting was put up for debate even before the second film came out. Now here we are waiting for the third film, and the ongoing lawsuits keep adding new allegations from both sides.


Johnny Depp has a defamation suit against Amber Heard tied to her Washington Post op-ed piece on speaking up against sexual violence. He claims her abuse allegations are part of an "elaborate hoax" to boost her career. His team is also trying to tie that op-ed to Depp losing his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in future Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Amber Heard's side accused Depp of trying to get her fired from her role as Mera in DC/Warner Bros.'s Aquaman.




Fantastic Beasts 3 was originally set to begin production this summer, with a hoped-for but not official release date of November 2020. Production was initially pushed back to late fall 2019. Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski) said filming was delayed because the third movie is "bigger than the first two combined." The "gigantic" movie needed more time to prep, and they didn't want to rush anything.


Just recently, filming was pushed back to start in spring 2020, with the film getting an official release date of November 2021. The first two films were released in November 2016 and November 2018, respectively.


J.K. Rowling is writing all five movies in this franchise; she is said to currently be re-working the third movie's script to try and make it better than Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald after the relative disappointment of the second movie with fans, critics, and the box office.




As far as we know, Johnny Depp and the rest of the cast will continue in their roles from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. If that changes due to contracts or other issues, you can bet there will be big reactions from every side of the fandom. The third film's title has yet to be revealed, but here's what we do know so far about Fantastic Beasts 3.


Jumat, 30 Agustus 2019

Apparently Goose Had Some Trouble On The Captain Marvel Set Filming Around Skrulls

Apparently Goose Had Some Trouble On The Captain Marvel Set Filming Around Skrulls
Goose the Cat / Flerken in Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel? More like Goose: A Love Story. The latest MCU origin story featured a Flerken named Goose; he was quite the scene-stealer and we all can’t stop raving about all the cuteness the character brought to the superhero blockbuster. Goose was portrayed by four cats (Reggie, Archie, Rizzo and Gonzo) who interacted with just about every one of the film’s stars, some of whom reportedly spooked the cats a bit at first, per their trainer, Ursula Brauner of Boone’s Animals for Hollywood. In her words:



I think maybe it was probably the Skrull costumes. That was one of our challenges because they look so different from people. Ben Mendelsohn was so amazing getting the cats used to the costume and makeup, though. He showed them how he moved and sounded, and he was just really great getting the cats to like him.



Wouldn’t we like to know what goes through the minds of the cats who found themselves working with the green alien race of Captain Marvel? The trainer explained it was a challenge at first, but thanks to the patience of Ben Mendelsohn, who plays Talos, the cat actors warmed up to working with the Skrulls.





In Ursula Brauner’s interview with Vulture, she continued with a sweet anecdote about how the filmmakers helped make one animal star at ease with him on set, with these words:



I remember being in the quad-jet set in a very tight space, and Ben doesn’t look anything like a human being in his costume. Reggie was a little unfurled. [Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck] took the time to say, “Let’s stop what we’re doing and get the cat comfortable.” We had Reggie sitting on a chair, and Ben was sitting in the chair next to him, and we let Reggie go to him and explore on his own volition, and pretty soon, he realized Ben was just like us, but he just looked different. It’s about taking the time to stop. And it shows onscreen.



The cats portraying Goose in Captain Marvel certainly look comfortable on screen, as they just about own every moment they’re in, including some especially memorable ones with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. The actor has given some mixed signals about his time working with the cats on set, telling us that “always a good day” when Goose was there and other outlets "I am not a cat person."





Brauner did set the record straight in regards to Jackson, noting he was one of the best people for the cats to work with on the film. She said they loved him and would go right up to the actor. Of the four cats, Reggie was the star cat actor, who probably is in 70% of the scenes seen on screen, according the his trainer.


In the Captain Marvel comic books, Carol Danvers does hang with a Flerken, though his name is famously Chewie. The filmmakers decided to go with Goose instead to match the film’s roots in the ‘90s and pay tribute to the fellow Air Force film character.


Goose has been treated like just about every other human star in Captain Marvel, as the character has been seen in massive banners in his own character poster everywhere and even walked the red carpet at the movie’s premiere. You can gush over the cat actors in Captain Marvel, in theaters now.





Kamis, 29 Agustus 2019

Apparently China Is Really, Really Into Green Book

Apparently China Is Really, Really Into Green Book
Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortenson in Green Book

This year’s recent Oscars ceremony may have ended in shock for many when Green Book took home Best Picture, but the movie's Oscar success has definitely been beneficial. Since the win, Green Book has seen been showing off its “Oscar halo” in 63 markets – including a 121% boost at the domestic box office and has just become No. 1 in China.


That’s right, China loves Green Book! The 2019 Best Picture opened at an impressive $17.2 million opening weekend behind How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (which made $33 million) and Alita: Battle Angel ($24 million) before rising to the top spot on Monday with an overall $25 million by Wednesday, per The Hollywood Reporter. Green Book is now the country’s second highest-grossing Best Picture winner, behind Titanic.


The movie is also scoring seriously high reviews from Chinese critics and moviegoers. For example, the movie received a 9.6 out of 10 rating on Maoyan, a Chinese ticketing app. But wait… Green Book is an all-American story about race relations in the deep South. What about that screams an instant hit for China? There are a few reasons why.





The answer is timing. The Academy Awards are well-followed in China and the Best Picture winner opened in theaters across the country just three days after the telecast. The award show created some effective buzz for Green Book, since the film took home three Oscars out of five nominations – including a second Supporting Actor win for Mahershala Ali and Best Original Screenplay.


Additionally, the richest man in China, tech tycoon and CEO of Alibaba Pictures, Jack Ma, was an investor on Green Book and made it well known to Chinese media. The film studio has also had a hand in investing Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Star Trek Beyond which made $181 and $65 million in China, respectively.


Another contributing factor to Green Book’s success in China is the same reason why the film was met with backlash and controversy over from American audiences. Many have criticized the movie for its mediocre approach in presenting the complexity of race relations and its use of the tiresome “white savoir” trope.





Green Book was also called out by the family of Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali), who called out the movie for being “full of lies” and the film is based off one of the film’s writers Nick Vallelonga recalling his own memories from his father (played by Viggo Mortenson). One important perspective of the race relations movie may seem to be missing due to this.


Many moviegoers in China don’t have intricate understanding of America’s complicated ties with racism, just as with Americans, many of us don’t claim to understand the history of the Chinese people. So what might have seemed “uninspired” to many in Green Book, may have been just China’s speed ­– as they needed little background knowledge to follow along.


Factors such as these is a good reminder of why some Hollywood movies become hits in unexpected markets and Green Book is the latest example.





Rabu, 28 Agustus 2019

Apparently Avengers: Endgame's Second Half Is Mind-Blowing

Apparently Avengers: Endgame's Second Half Is Mind-Blowing
Avengers cast endgame movie

Thanks to the intense secrecy of Avengers: Endgame, fans know very little of what to expect when they eventually sit down to watch the film later this month. Spectacle and tears have been assured by the filmmakers and cast, but specific plot details are locked in the vault. We still only have broad statements to work off of, but fans are apparently in for a treat, because a source claims that the second half of Endgame is "mind-blowing."


In Avengers: Endgame, the surviving members of the team must band together and find a way to reverse the damage done to the universe by Thanos -- or at least get revenge on the Mad Titan. That's already one epic logline that promises drama and action, and fan theories have risen up to try and plug the various holes. People have pitched everything from time travel to Ant-Man jumping up Thanos' butt, but whatever it ends up being, it will be absolutely wild.


Endgame is projected to have a record-breaking domestic opening that could earn as high as $300 million. As we get closer to the release date, that number could change depending on the reviews of the film. While a bad review can hurt box office performance, Deadline doesn't think Endgame has to worry about bad reviews. A reliable source who has seen the movie told the publication that the second half of Endgame is mind-blowing.




Deadline doesn't go any more specific than that, but mind-blowing feels like it's an accurate word for Endgame based on what we know already. Marvel has been hyping that it pulled off all the stops for this one, and while I think being overhyped is generally a bad thing, all evidence so far suggests Endgame will be a movie to remember.


And it's not just shadowy industry insiders who like the film. Test audiences apparently loved it, too! Per co-director Joe Russo during an interview with BoxOfficePro, Endgame had one of the highest test scores of any Marvel movie.



We’re vigilant about using test audiences to tell us whether we’re on the right track or we’re making bad decisions. With Endgame, it had one of the most incredible audience responses in Marvel history. Irrespective of the length, it’s been consistently embraced by the test audiences.





Butts likely won't be leaving seats during Endgame's wild runtime of three hours. Expect a lot more hype over these next coming weeks and be careful of the leaks that will inevitable arrive online. Something tells me going in as dry as possible will yield the best experience for everyone.


We'll finally have all of our questions answered when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26. To learn all the information that we do know, here's our helpful guide.


Selasa, 27 Agustus 2019

Anthony Russo Is 'Almost Disappointed' About One Aspect Of Avengers: Endgame’s Opening Weekend

Anthony Russo Is 'Almost Disappointed' About One Aspect Of Avengers: Endgame’s Opening Weekend
Thor in Avengers: Endgame

Can a comic book movie be too successful? The simple answer is probably, “No.” Especially if you happen to be a studio executive. And yet, for Joe and Anthony Russo, they did reflect on the recent historic run enjoyed by their new movie Avengers: Endgame and find one small reason to be disappointed. This came up when the brothers sat down with CinemaBlend’s own ReelBlend podcast, where Anthony Russo admitted:



I have to be honest with you. I'm almost disappointed that the movie did so well, because it's like, the box office story is literally dominating the conversation and it’s not the most interesting part of the story.



We imagine all of that will change once the unofficial Spoiler Embargo on Avengers: Endgame lifts on Monday, May 6, and fans are able to speak openly about the massive swings that occur in this recent Avengers movie.




But Joe and Anthony Russo also understand fully why box office became the focal point of the discussion in the days following Avengers: Endgame, because their blockbuster was behaving in ways we’d never seen before – and may never see again. The movie earned more than $1.2 billion globally in its first five days of release. BoxOfficeMojo notes that the movie is heading into its second weekend looking to surpass the domestic grosses of the original The Avengers movie, which needed 154 days to pass $623.6 million. Endgame might reach that figure in 10 days.


Anthony Russo talked to the ReelBlend podcast about the box office performance of the movie, and their expectations for opening weekend. He elaborated:



When you're charged with writing the final chapter of the book, and executing it, our hope was that -- with any favorite story, you always want the end to be the best part of the story. So that was really what we were hoping to do. Even if we got anywhere close to that, that was our aspiration. And it seems like, at least for some people on some levels, that we delivered an ending that seems satisfying.





While Joe Russo took it from a business standpoint, adding:



It’s always about the narrative, too, of these movies in the marketplace. How did it do? Did it break a record? Did it beat the last one? That stuff is really critical to the life of a movie. And of course, we were hoping that it was going to break the international record. Because that's a story, right? And then you're hoping and praying that it beats the domestic, which was set by Infinity War last year. Otherwise, frankly, [for] some people looks like a failure. It's crazy that a movie like this has these kinds of demands on it.



And yet, Avengers: Endgame is meeting those demands. And now we’re excited to see what the sequel can do in its second weekend. The goal, for most, is to see it surpass Avatar as the highest grossing global film. It has a while to go, but the record seems feasible.




Listen to the full, non-spoiler conversation with the Russo Brothers as part of this week’s ReelBlend podcast:


And if you haven’t yet, check out Avengers: Endgame, in theaters as we speak.


Senin, 26 Agustus 2019

Anthony Mackie And His Falcon Stunt Double Watched Fans Watch Avengers: Endgame

Anthony Mackie And His Falcon Stunt Double Watched Fans Watch Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame is already one of the biggest movies in the world, thanks to a global opening that broke the billion dollar mark. In addition to all of the fans who attended screenings starting Thursday night, at least one Avengers: Endgame star was also in attendance, as Anthony Mackie let everybody know on Thursday that he would be in the audience of one particular showing, so that he could see the movie with a general audience.


Mackie had been to the World Premiere of Endgame a few nights previously, but he said on social media that he wanted to see the movie with a crowd of fans, the general population as he puts it, as well. It's one thing to see a movie in a theater full of those people who helped make it, but the Falcon actor wanted to also see how the serious fans would respond.


Endgame clearly is a movie for the fans. It is a culmination of the franchise to this point, but it's also a celebration of the entire concept of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's something fans have been waiting to see, so of course Anthony Mackie wanted to see just how good a job had been done in their eyes.




For that, you show up to the first screening on Thursday night. That theater will be full of people who could not wait at all to see the film. On the one hand, they're clearly already sold on the MCU, but on the other hand, if there's something they don't like, they're very likely to let you know.


Of course, going to the movies is always more fun when you see a movie with people, and Anthony Mackie didn't go alone. His date for the evening was Aaron Toney, his stunt double in Endgame. Toney has also been the stunt double for Chadwick Boseman in the MCU as well.


Unfortunately, there's no follow up tweet where Anthony Mackie tells us what the experience of watching Avengers: Endgame with a general audience was like, but based on everything we do know, we can guess it went pretty well. Fans and critics alike have been praising Endgame left and right. For a franchise that has built over 20 films in just over 10 years, the film that was designed to end many stories and send the MCU in a new direction people largely agree has done so in a near perfect way.




Considering that the film brought in an estimated $350 million domestically and $1.2 billion worldwide on its opening weekend, it seems quite clear that fans loved the movie. You can bet that many of those ticket sales went to people already seeing the movie for at least a second time. It seems like almost the entire world saw the movie this weekend, the only question now is, are there enough people left to see it in order to send the box office numbers even higher?


Minggu, 25 Agustus 2019

Anne Hathaway Used Stewie From Family Guy To Learn British Accent In The Hustle

Anne Hathaway Used Stewie From Family Guy To Learn British Accent In The Hustle
Anne Hathaway in the Hustle

The Hustle stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson as a pair of competing con artists. It's actually the third version of the story that first began with 1964's Bedtime Story and was followed by 1988's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.


In both of the previous iteration, the part of the high class con artist was played by a British actor, David Niven in the original, and Michael Caine in the first remake. In the new movie, American Hathaway has the role, but she plays a British character, which meant she needed to put on an accent.


The actress says she wasn't all that excited about the accent because she was afraid of doing it badly, but then she hit on an idea. What if the accent wasn't real, even within the story? Hathaway says she found influences for her accent in many places, but most strangely, Seth MacFarlane's performance as Stewie on Family Guy. According to Hathaway...





I thought, 'OK, maybe my character isn't necessarily British.’ She's a con woman. Maybe she's just decided that she's British and she sounds British. So I thought, 'What would be her main influences.' I really love Joanna Lumley from Absolutely Fabulous and it would've been such a shame not to put a little Julie Andrews in there, so I put a little Julie Andrews in there. But mainly it was Stewie from Family Guy.



A bad accent in movies is one of those things that tends to get actors raked over the coals when they're bad so it's not shocking, and a little refreshing, that Anne Hathaway was concerned about that from the beginning. She tells GMA that she didn't want to use an accent at all, but director Chris Addison insisted on it.


The idea that the accent in The Hustle might be fake, as the character Josephine Chesterfield is a con artist who might want people to believe she's British when that's not the case, is an interesting idea. It also, not coincidentally I'm guessing, gives the actress an out if people tell her the accent isn't very good.




However, Anne Hathaway says that the British press are actually complimenting her accent, so apparently it all worked out.


It's certainly not shocking that Julie Andrews was an influence on Anne Hathaway's accent. The two have been co-stars before after all. The Family Guy connection is, of course, a little bit more bizarre. Although, since Seth MacFarlane isn't British either, using a fake accent to create your own fake accent maybe makes a bit more sense.


Check out Anne Hathaway's complete comments in the clip below.




Anne Hathaway's accent may be great, but it may not be enough to save the film, It's being hammered by critics at the moment. We'll have to wait and see how it fairs at the box office.


Sabtu, 24 Agustus 2019

Annabelle Comes Home Trailer Makes The Warrens Fight That Damned Doll's Friends

Annabelle Comes Home Trailer Makes The Warrens Fight That Damned Doll's Friends

Annabelle 3 is called Annabelle Comes Home, and the official trailer brings Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) back into the mix. The trailer is also a 2 minute, 24 second warning not to make friends.


Friends will go into the room in your home that you told them not to go in. They'll touch things they shouldn't touch. They'll free a creepy doll named Annabelle. And they'll let that doll become a beacon for other spirits. Those creepy spirit friends will crash at your house and torture you with jumpscares. Then your parents will have to jump in and save the day -- again. Behold the trailer:


Mckenna Grace! She is everywhere. Maybe that should be the next Conjuring movie -- The Warrens realizing that Mckenna Grace has been cloned and that's why she's in every movie and TV show these days.




Mckenna Grace plays 10-year-old Judy Warren in Annabelle Comes Home, the seventh movie in The Conjuring Universe. It's a sequel to the 2014 movie Annabelle, which was a spinoff from The Conjuring. This movie also follows the prequel Annabelle: Creation.


James Wan, who directed the first two Conjuring movies, produced Annabelle Comes Home. Because the Warrens are in this film and the doll returns to their home, Wan said the movie feels like a new Conjuring film.


Here's the synopsis from New Line Cinema:





Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren bring the possessed doll to the locked artifacts room in their home, placing her “safely” behind sacred glass and enlisting a priest’s holy blessing. But an unholy night of horror awaits as Annabelle awakens the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target—the Warrens’ ten-year-old daughter, Judy, and her friends.



In addition to McKenna Grace (Captain Marvel) as Judy -- who appears to have inherited her mother's gifts; Madison Iseman (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) stars as Judy's babysitter, Mary Ellen; and Katie Sarife (Supernatural) plays Judy's troubled friend Daniela. This appears to be Daniela's fault, since she touched everything in the artifact room and set this all in motion. Then again, you could also blame the Warrens for keeping all that dangerous supernatural stuff in their own home.


Gary Dauberman -- who wrote the previous Annabelle films, IT, and The Nun -- made his directorial debut with this movie.




The Conjuring Universe is pushing movies out as fast as the DCEU and MCU these days. Before we see Annabelle Comes Home this June, we have the sixth film in the Conjuring Universe -- The Curse of La Llorona. That one is only tangentially connected to the world, but it does have an Annabelle link.


After Annabelle 3, we have The Conjuring 3 coming out in September 2020. That is being directed by Michael Chaves, who also directed The Curse of La Llorona. Aquaman director James Wan is now too busy to direct Conjuring movies, but he's still a producer in this world. After Conjuring 3 comes out, we should get more updates on The Crooked Man, which should be next.


Annabelle Comes Home will open in theaters (and IMAX) on June 28, 2019, as one of the many films to look forward to in 2019.




Jumat, 23 Agustus 2019

Annabelle Comes Home Is Definitely Not A Horror Comedy, But It Will Have Funny Moments

Annabelle Comes Home Is Definitely Not A Horror Comedy, But It Will Have Funny Moments
Annabelle Comes Home announcement poster

The horror movies of The Conjuring Universe definitely take themselves seriously. Sure, there are the occasional laughs featured in the six features we’ve seen thus far, but they are pretty few and far between, as the focus has clearly always been primarily on scares. This is a tradition that fans can expect to see continue soon in the upcoming Annabelle Comes Home, but according to writer/director Gary Dauberman, you may find yourself chuckling while watching the movie a bit more than you did with previous chapters in this franchise.


The tone of Annabelle Comes Homes was a subject that came up during an interview with Dauberman on the set of the film when it was in production late last year, and in discussing his approach the filmmaker revealed that the new release will be a bit different than the previous two Annabelle features (both of which he wrote). While he stressed that there will never be a point in the movie where a comedic beat is given preference over a scare, there are going to be some laughs mixed in with the screams during the experience:



I'm not a huge fan of horror comedies, but I love comedy in my horror – if that makes sense. I like moments of levity, so I'm leaning into that a little bit more on certain moments, because I find if we hit the moments where people laugh, and then they get scared right away… I like trying to land that. I've been playing around with that a little bit more.





It’s an interesting direction to take, and arguably a smart one. While it’s definitely true that too much comedy can undercut the more frightening aspects of a horror film, striking a proper balance can work wonders. After all, making an audience smile with a joke or silly situation can lure them into a false sense of security, and when their guard is down a proper scare can result in shrieks, spilled soda, and flung popcorn.


Furthermore, a proper application of laughs interspersed with shocks does wonders for the ride-like experience that a great horror movie can offer. Those are two emotions on opposite ends of the spectrum, and it can be a blast for crowds to constantly bounce back and forth between those extremes. A recent example of a film that did that brilliantly was Andres Muschietti’s IT – which Gary Dauberman also wrote.


Part of what allows Gary Dauberman to take this approach with Annabelle Comes Home is that the plot offers circumstances that make the laughs natural – something that he didn’t really have in the making of Annabelle or Annabelle: Creation. Specifically, there is a classic horror set up here, with the story centering on young Judy Warren (McKenna Grace) as she spends the night with a babysitter (Madison Iseman) and her babysitter’s best friend (Katie Sarife) in a house that starts to go a bit nuts thanks to the presence of Annabelle. As Dauberman explained, the personalities of the girls allowed him to try some lighter tones with the plot, while never breaking too far from the larger tone of The Conjuring Universe movies. Said the writer/director,





That just fits the girls too because they're just so upbeat. It’s that sort of the teenagers alone in the house thing we're trying to capture too. It's been a lot of... We're not going ‘outside the box’ on this one, but I think we're trying to get a couple more moments of levity that maybe weren't there in the first and second one. I mean, there were moments of levity, but a little bit more of that sprinkled in.



Annabelle Comes Home, which features the return of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Loraine Warren, will be hitting theaters everywhere as a big summer release this year – scheduled to go nationwide on June 28th. It’s one of our most anticipated releases of the season, so you can be sure that we’ll have a lot more for you to read about it here on CinemaBlend between now and when it comes out.


Annabelle Comes Home Is Aiming To Mess With Your Expectations

Annabelle Comes Home Is Aiming To Mess With Your Expectations
Annabelle under the sheets in Annabelle Comes Home

Gary Dauberman is extremely well versed when it comes to The Conjuring Universe. After all, the filmmaker has written three of the five features within the franchise so far, and has had a massive hand in establishing both the brand of storytelling and the specific aesthetic that has defined the beloved horror world. He’ll soon be taking that involvement to the next level, as he is making his directorial debut helming the upcoming Annabelle Comes Home – and with that job he definitely has big plans when it comes to subverting audience expectations.


After visiting the set of the new movie late last year, I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Gary Dauberman later in the development of Annabelle Comes Home, joining a small group of journalists a couple months ago to visit the film’s edit bay and sit down with the writer/director for a conversation about the project. Of the subjects discussed, one was about the way in which he plans on mixing things up and letting the audience feel like they know everything that’s going to happen from scene to scene. Said Dauberman,



That's something I love to play around with, are the expectations. Let's lead them in this direction. I'm a huge fan of magic, and it's all about misdirect, right? So I tried to apply that in a lot of ways to scares. And I learned that from James [Wan] too. He's always trying to push the... like, 'I did this last time, so I'm going to give them that up to this, and then I'm going to go right when they thought I was going to go left.'





As noted, Gary Dauberman has worked with some great filmmakers within the Conjuring Universe so far, with the biggest name being James Wan – who served as a producer on Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, and The Nun (all of which Dauberman wrote) in addition to directing the first two Conjuring titles. So while stepping into a directorial debut can be a daunting task, he’s had the opportunity to see how it’s properly done by a master.


Continuing, the writer/director explained that he’s making a concentrated effort with Annabelle Comes Home to change up the scares and perpetually keep audiences on their toes. So, for example, if a character is approaching a dark corner, your brain might tell you that there is definitely going to be something lurking around the bend, but Dauberman suggests that won’t always be the case. Said the filmmaker,



I really tried to do that with a bunch of the scares here. And also not just go for the jump scares all the time, like when you think something's going to happen, and then it doesn't, or maybe there's a sequence where it feels a little bit more Twilight Zone-y than a traditional sort of 'Approaching the corner, and is there a monster behind it?' So we tried to vary it up on that level.





This is honestly a great thing to hear, as this kind of approach can really do wonders for a movie’s atmosphere. Consistently bluffing in this fashion can not only keep ratchetting up the tension, but it can also have the effect of making the audience start to feel a little too comfortable. And right when movie-goers are beginning to feel relaxed, a well-timed scare can effectively throw them from their seat.


It’s an experience for which we’re tremendously excited, and it won’t be long until we will have the chance to have it. Annabelle Comes Home is now just a few weeks away from release, and will be arriving in theaters everywhere on June 26th. In the meantime, be sure to keep checking back here on CinemaBlend, as we’ll have plenty more awesome coverage coming your way!


Kamis, 22 Agustus 2019

Annabelle 3 Has An Official Title, And It’s Great

Annabelle 3 Has An Official Title, And It’s Great

Although the main Conjuring film series began in 2013 and will return with its third installment next year, this horror franchise became a proper cinematic universe in 2014 with the release of Annabelle, centered on the eponymous creepy doll introduced in The Conjuring. She returned in 2016 for Annabelle: Creation and will be back again this summer, and we’ve now learned that Annabelle 3 will be officially, and fittingly, titled Annabelle Comes Home, as you’ll see below.


At first glance, Annabelle Comes Home may not seem like a particularly special title, but when looking at where this movie’s set within the Conjuring timeline, it makes sense. It was revealed last year that the threequel will be set after the beginning portion of The Conjuring, with Annabelle being kept in the museum of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the protagonists of the Conjuring movies. So after two movies of seeing Annabelle’s horrifying exploits in years past, she’s finally “returning” to the family that launched her film career, although within the Conjuring chronology, not much time has passed.


It’s nice to finally know what the third Annabelle movie’s being called, and this video is certainly spooky. Still, with only three months to go until the movie’s release, ideally fans will be treated to a trailer relatively soon. In a summer season that’s packed with various genre offerings, Warner Bros will want to start showing off footage from this latest Conjuring franchise fright fest to get more people hyped for its release.





The first Annabelle spinoff took place in 1967 and depicted how Annabelle Higgins died and the demon impersonating her spirit going on a killing spree, eventually inserting itself into that porcelain While met with mixed-to-negative reception, Annabelle did quite well for itself commercially, making $257 million worldwide off a $6.5 million budget. Annabelle: Creation wound the clock back even further to 1955 and show how Annabelle, originally known as Janice, became demonically possessed. Creation earned a much better critical reception than its predecessor and made $206.5 million worldwide off a $15 million budget.


For the third spinoff, Annabelle Comes Home will see Annabelle terrorizing the Warrens’ daughter, Judy, in the family’s home, and the doll’s presence will have an effect on the other supernatural artifacts being kept under lock and key. Along with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprising Ed and Lorraine, respectively, Annabelle Comes Home’s main cast includes Mckenna Grace as Judy, Madison Iseman as Mary Ellen, Katie Strife as Daniela, Stephen Backehart as Thomas, Steve Coulter as Father Gordon Paul Dean as Mr Palmeri and Luca Luhan as Anthony Rios.


Directed and written by Gary Dauberman, with Conjuring mastermind James Wan producing alongside Peter Safran, Annabelle Comes Home scares its way into theaters on June 28, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. For now, don’t forget to look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies come out later this year.





Anna Paquin Has Never Seen X-Men: Days Of Future Past

Anna Paquin Has Never Seen X-Men: Days Of Future Past
Rogue and Logan in Days of Future Past

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC live-action universe were battling for box office supremacy, Bryan Singer's 2000 hit X-Men broke new ground by proving the genre could be both profitable and popular. The X-Men property is still going strong today, with fans looking forward to the upcoming release of Dark Phoenix. The First Class and original trilogy collided with the ambitious X-Men: Days of Future Past, combining both casts of characters into one massive blockbuster.


Days of Future Past arrived in theaters back in 2014, and was a multi-tiered story that took place in both a dystopian future and 1973. While X-Men fans were happy to see so many familiar faces in one movie, one major mutant got left on the cutting room floor: Anna Paquin's Rogue. While she eventually got her scenes restored in the home video Rogue Cut, it turns out that Paquin has never seen the movie-- either version. As she recently revealed:



Truthfully, I haven't actually seen either [version]. Hey, everyone with newborn twins who sits down and watches films for their own pleasure, raise their hand. Not me.






Despite being an OG member of the X-Men franchise, it looks like Anna Paquin hasn’t seen her most recent appearance, and the finale to her trilogy’s story. But she’s got a good excuse, as she was still a new mother when Days of Future Past arrived in theaters.


Anna Paquin’s comments to EW about missing Days of Future Past mentions she had recently given birth at the time the blockbuster was released. Paquin and her husband and True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer had twins Poppy and Charlie Moyer in 2012, with the challenge of two babies proving too distracting for the actress to tune into Days of Future Past. And considering how her small role was ultimately cut from the theatrical release, the movie must have been even further from her mind.


While X-Men: Days of Future Past was a brave and bold part of the X-Men franchise, in the end it's just another gig for Anna Paquin. And when things in her personal life needed attention, she became less invested in the comic book property. Rogue hadn't factored heavily into the narrative since back in The Last Stand, so you can't blame Paquin for moving on with her life, while still being open for another cameo.





Rogue's role in Days of Future Past wasn't revealed until the film came out for home release, and the Rogue Cut arrived. After Logan lashed out and injured Ellen Page's Kitty Pryde, the future characters needed Rogue to relieve her. But they had to break her out of a mutant prison first, with Iceman and Magneto doing the honors, and reuniting her with the rest of the group. Iceman even perished in the process, giving him a death separate from the mass execution in the film's third act.


Ultimately, Rogue'e scenes weighed down Days of Future Past's already long runtime, so she ended up on the cutting room floor. Luckily Anna Paquin didn't seem too heartbroken, and her scenes were eventually made available to the fandom anyway. While the character became less vital to the story as the franchise lives on, Rogue's role in the first X-Men franchise was integral to the main plot, and the conflict between good and evil.


It should be interesting to see how Rogue functions onscreen once the deal between Disney and Fox is official. Rogue hasn't been part of the First Class franchise, which is set to continue with the upcoming release of Dark Phoenix. While she hasn't been seen onscreen in a number of years, that might change once the X-Men are adopted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Comic book fans are eager to see the mutants finally appear in the massive shared universe, although smart money says Disney will be rebooting the property, rather than simply incorporating the existing cast into the MCU.





This potential outcome is a bummer for fans who have followed the X-Men franchise for nearly two decades, but it opens up a ton of narrative possibilities for the titular team of Marvel heroes. Marvel Studios will get a fresh start at iconic characters like Wolverine, Cyclops, Magneto, and (hopefully) Rogue. Fans of Anna Paquin's signature X-Men character know that she's got a quite different origin in the comics than what was portrayed onscreen, so the MCU could break new ground and show a new side to casual moviegoers.


In the comics, Rogue is the adopted daughter of Mystique, who was trained to be a villain. Professor X eventually calls out to her, and she joins the X-Men and becomes a beloved member of the team. What's more, the backstory behind her powers directly relates to Carol Danvers, the character Brie Larson is bringing to theaters with Captain Marvel.


When working for Mystique, Rogue uses her power-stealing abilities to attack Carol Danvers aka Miss Marvel (this was before Captain Marvel became the character's primary name). She holds onto Carol so long that she absorbs her Kree abilities permanently, retaining super strength, near invulnerability, and flight-- in addition to her normal power. With Captain Marvel is set to be a major presence in the future of the MCU, it would be the perfect time to give Rogue the spotlight comic fans have been waiting for her to inhabit.





Unfortunately, most of Marvel's plans after Avengers: Endgame are a mystery. With the exception of Spider-Man: Far From Home, it's unclear what the future of the behemoth franchise holds. Fox and Disney's merger adds extra uncertainty to the situation, with the X-Men franchise still moving forward with the release of Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants. Additionally, there's the Deadpool franchise to worry about as well. While Disney will no doubt keep Ryan Reynolds character alive and well, fans have worried as to whether or not they'll still be rated R. All that remains to be seen, as the general public is left to wait for official news from either camp.


The next installment in the X-Men franchise will be Dark Phoenix on June 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.


Rabu, 21 Agustus 2019

Angelina Jolie Gets Threatening In First Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil Trailer

Angelina Jolie Gets Threatening In First Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil Trailer

Robert Stromberg's Maleficent was a massive hit when it hit theaters back in the summer of 2014, ultimately making over $750 million at the global box office - but it took a minute for a sequel to get the green light. While Disney continued to mine their expansive animated library for new live-action material, the idea of a sequel to the villain-centric fairy tale stayed on the back burner. Five years later, however, the studio is now finally getting ready to unleash Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil on the world, and today we got our very first look at the new blockbuster. Check it out!


The first Maleficent surprised a lot of people in the way in which it added new context to the primary antagonist of 1959's Sleeping Beauty, giving audiences an interesting opportunity to see the villainess in a new light. Taking that into consideration, it will be interesting to see what the sequel winds up doing with her, as this debut trailer for Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil definitely suggests that the film will be developing the character's sinister side quite a bit.


Directed by Joachim Rønning, who previously worked with Disney co-directing 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the Maleficent sequel picks up years after the events of its predecessor, and continues to explore the complicated maternal relationship between Angelina Jolie's titular character and the princess Aurora (Elle Fanning), whom the eponymous fairy memorably cursed on the day of her birth. The new movie features a number of actors who were featured in the original, including Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass, Juno Temple as Thistlewit, Lesley Manville as Flittle, and Sam Riley as Diaval, but there are also a number of new faces joining the franchise, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Skrein, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Harris Dickinson - who replaces Brenton Thwaites in the role of Prince Phillip.




Though production on Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil wrapped up last August, we initially thought that we were going to have to still wait quite a while for the release of this movie... but that all changed back in March in a significant way. While Disney had initially featured the film on their release schedule for May of 2020, apparently some significant moves were made behind the scenes that allowed them to push it up nearly a full year on the calendar. Now the blockbuster sequel is scheduled to arrive in a theater near you this October - meaning that it will be one of four different live-action adaptations of classic Walt Disney Animation features released in 2019 (the other three being Dumbo, The Lion King, and Aladdin). It will have some pretty stiff competition at the box office, with other releases that month including Joker, Zombieland: Double Tap, Gemini Man, and the animated Addams Family, but the studio clearly doesn't want to make fans of the original wait any longer than they have to for the anticipated sequel.


Are you excited for Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil? Hit the comments section below with all your thoughts, feelings, and opinions about the brand new teaser trailer, and be sure to check out our 2019 release calendar for a glimpse at everything that's coming out between now and the end of December.


Selasa, 20 Agustus 2019

Angel Has Fallen Trailer: Morgan Freeman And Gerard Butler Are Back For Olympus Has Fallen Three-quel

Angel Has Fallen Trailer: Morgan Freeman And Gerard Butler Are Back For Olympus Has Fallen Three-quel

Through the events of Olympus Has Fallen, and subsequently London Has Fallen, Secret Service agent Mike Banning has gone through hell and back to protect the most important people in the United States’ government. But in the next chapter of his story, titled Angel Has Fallen, that job is about to get a lot harder. As Banning himself is framed with trying to do the one thing he’s sworn to prevent: the death of the President.


Check out the trailer for yourself, below:


Coming in after the events of London Has Fallen, Angel Has Fallen also sees a change in who exactly is the Commander In Chief, as Morgan Freeman’s Allan Trumbull has made it into the White House this time around. Of course, that surprise is short-lived, as the film’s trailer sees a huge drone attack take out President Trumbull’s security detail, leaving Mike Banning the prime suspect behind the event.




Pursuing Gerard Butler’s Mike through this new film is Jada Pinkett Smith’s FBI agent Thompson, a new character introduced in Angel Has Fallen. Her character not only has the job of giving Mike Banning the bad news that he’s being investigated for attempted assassination, but also trying to find him once he’s gotten loose. If you didn’t think he was going to get loose, then you’re probably thinking of some other hypothetical sequel to a White House-themed Die Hard homage.


So naturally, with his back against the wall, and seemingly nowhere to escape this shadowy conspiracy, Mike Banning needs to find someone he can trust to keep him alive, and help him protect the president. Who better than his own father, Clay? (By the way, Clay's played by future Star Wars TV star Nick Nolte, who looks like he’s the type of person who believes in survival off the grid.) Seeing as Mike’s pretty resourceful in these sorts of situations, Angel Has Fallen sees the two reunited, and ready to bring the fight to whoever wants it.


Co-starring Lance Reddick, Piper Perabo, and Danny Houston as who looks to be one of the film’s main antagonists, Angel Has Fallen looks like more of a personal war between Mike Banning and the forces of villainy. This third tour of duty in the series that started with director Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen has him square in the crosshairs of those who would do the country, and its leader, harm. Though that only makes this latest entry that much more dangerous.




The explosions and gunfire come fast and furious in this trailer for director Ric Roman Waugh’s latest action spectacular. Coming from a stunt background, much like John Wick directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, it’s exciting to think of the amazing thrills that Angel Has Fallen hasn’t shown us in this first look.


It’ll be a little while before we get to see those thrills, as Angel Has Fallen lands in theaters on August 23rd. But if you’re looking for something action-packed in a theater near you, the 2019 release schedule is practically an armory for your moviegoing dollar.


Andy Serkis Went Through Extensive Makeup For Long Shot, Despite Nobody Asking Him To

Andy Serkis Went Through Extensive Makeup For Long Shot, Despite Nobody Asking Him To
Bob Odenkirk Andy Serkis and Charlize Theron in Long Shot

Since his breakout role as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Andy Serkis has established himself as one of the most brilliantly transformative actors in modern Hollywood. Obviously a big part of it is his dedication to and expertise in the world of performance capture, but even when it comes to his “live-action” parts he rarely appears as he does in everyday life.


All that being said, you wouldn’t necessarily expect him to bring that same kind of energy to a role in a comedy like Jonathan Levine’s Long Shot, and yet he did… with absolutely nobody actually telling him to do it.


I learned the full story about Andy Serkis’ serious commitment when I attended the Los Angeles press day for Long Shot late month and had the pleasure of sitting down with the director and stars. Having gotten word about Serkis’ special initiative in the making of the movie, I first brought up the actor’s work during my interview with Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron, and both of them expressed their genuine surprise about their co-stars’ transformation into the role of Australian media mogul Parker Wembley:





Seth Rogen: We offered him the role, and then he was like, 'Okay.' And then he started sending ideas for what he would look like. And we were like, 'What do you mean? I thought he kind of looked a lot like Andy Serkis.' But he was like, 'No, I got this whole thing.' And we were like, 'Whatever, man!'


Charlize Theron: It was impressive!



The same sentiment was echoed later by Jonathan Levine, who confirmed that nobody actually asked Andy Serkis to sit in the make-up chair for many hours each day so that he could fully embody his vision of the character. At the same time, though, the director ultimately came to the realization of what the actor was doing, and got to understand the importance of physicality in the parts that Serkis takes on. Said Levine,



Andy Serkis made choices that nobody asked him to make, and that sounds like a negative thing, but as a director, actually, that's one of the most beautiful gifts you can give a director. Because he really dove into the character, and he really wanted to make it his own. The biggest thing was that he decided to be in prosthetic makeup for six hours a day. But you start to realize that this is how Andy Serkis accesses characters. If you think about Andy Serkis' career, it's facial expressions; it's very primal stuff. And so that really helped him figure out this guy.





In Long Shot, Andy Serkis’ Parker Wembley is basically halfway between Rupert Murdoch and Richard Branson, and is quickly introduced to the story as an antagonist. He winds up purchasing the independent newspaper for which Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) works as a reporter, and because Flarsky disagrees with Wembley’s politics he decides to quit. This quickly establishes legitimate conflict, but his role becomes more substantial because of his interest in gaining influence over Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), who has ambitions to run for President of the United States.


Andy Serkis’ level of devotion to his craft should be obvious to this point, but what makes the whole thing even more jaw-dropping is the extra detail that Seth Rogen dropped during our conversation. After all, it’s one thing to be willing to sit in a make-up chair for six hours every day, but the choice becomes even more extreme when you learn that sometimes he would go through the entire process and then not shoot a single frame of footage:



Seth Rogen: It was ridiculous! And there were some days, because it was self-inflicted, there were some days - and this happens a lot of movies - where you think you're going to shoot a scene, and then you don't, and then you shoot it the next day or something like that. And he would go through like six hours of makeup or something like that, and then we would just be like, 'Oh, we're not to do it today.' And he's just like, 'All right!'


Charlize Theron: He was fine!


Seth Rogen: You're just like, 'Dude! Like, wow.' He's truly one of the nicest dudes in the world, which is weird cause he like exclusively plays evil people. [laughs]





This is pretty insane to think about, particularly when you consider that actors regularly complain about the process of going through extreme transformations – but perhaps it’s a bit like taking long car trips: if you go on them regularly enough, eventually you just kind of get numb to their monotony.


You'll obviously be able to see Andy Serkis' full performance in the film, but he can briefly be spotted a couple times in the trailers - the first being in the screenshot above, and a second time in the shot below:


Regardless of exactly how Andy Serkis was able to put himself through that painstaking process in the making of Long Shot, at the end of the day it was something for which Jonathan Levine expressed extreme admiration and appreciation. Said the director,





It was amazing for us, because for me it reminded me of Coming To America or Dick Tracy, you know - movies where you're like, 'Who is that guy?' and that part of it becomes part of the fun of the movie. So it was always came from a fun place, and it was always consistent with what we were going for tonally. What's great about Serkis is he's a director too, so he knew he wasn't like 'going rogue.' It was a collaborative decision, but it was one that I was just kind of like, 'Dude, you really want to be here six hours longer than you have to?' I love directing, but you know, as soon as that whistle blows, I'm out the door. [laughs]



You can watch Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, and Jonathan Levine discuss their time working with Andy Serkis in the making of Long Shot by clicking play on the video below.


Also starring O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ravi Patel, June Diane Raphael, Alexander Skarsgard, and Bob Odenkirk, Long Shot is a romantic comedy that ultimately follows the relationship between the aforementioned Fred Flarsky and Charlotte Field, the latter having previously been the former’s babysitter. After losing his job, Flarsky winds up becoming a part of Field’s speechwriting team, and while he starts to learn how to not constantly get in his own way, she is also inspired to stand up for the ideals in which she believes. It’s one of the best comedies of the year so far, so be sure to look for it in a theater near you when it’s released this Friday.




Senin, 19 Agustus 2019

Andrew Garfield Reveals Which Part Of Playing Spider-Man Felt 'Really F-ing Good’

Andrew Garfield Reveals Which Part Of Playing Spider-Man Felt 'Really F-ing Good’
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in suit in Amazing Spider-Man

Five years ago, we were gearing up for a Spider-man sequel for Andrew Garfield’s iteration. These days, we are here readily awaiting Tom Holland’s second take at the character in this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. Crazy how history repeats itself, isn’t it?


(Sadly for some) Andrew Garfield’s time as the friendly webslinger came to an end when the character was negotiated into the hands of Disney’s MCU and the studio had a new direction planned for Spider-Man (...such as turning the character to dust?) Since moving on from the role, Garfield has been taking on various dramatic roles, such as in Martin Scorsese’s Silence and his Oscar-nominated role in Hacksaw Ridge. His famed Spider-Man role is still very much a part of him, though he recently admitted some satisfaction about waving goodbye to the superhero. Here’s what he said, and be forewarned there is an f-bomb...



That was the big learning experience of my creative life, and I have so many feelings about it and I'm still a huge fan of the character. But, it was nice to be able to fling it symbolically across the room for a second. That felt really fucking good, I have to admit!






During a London screening for his upcoming movie Under the Silver Lake, Spider-Man came up in the conversation, since there is apparently a reference to the character in the upcoming film. Andrew Garfield told the audience the Easter egg is coincidental before opening up about the “complicated relationship” he has with his Spider-Man tenure, expressing both gratitude and the strange satisfaction that came with leaving the role.


Andrew Garfield has discussed how his struggle with “bearing the weight” of the iconic hero and considering the actor led a franchise that made creative decisions that led to the failure of the franchise and hand off to Disney, Garfield understandably went through some frustrations while playing the role.


Take a look at Andrew Garfield talking about his former role at the screening in a video from Twitter user @schnapsideer below:





Anyone else looking forward to that book Andrew Garfield mentions he’ll write someday that he thinks “no one will read”? I think he’s got a million-dollar idea there! Tons of people would love to hear the dirty details about what it’s like to play the webslinger and what led to the underperforming Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014.


Despite the circumstances, Andrew Garfield has shown his support for Tom Holland taking over the role and has moved on to show off his dramatic chops in movies such as Breathe, 99 Homes and Under the Silver Lake coming April 19. Spider-Man is in his rightful place in the MCU with Iron Man, Cap and the gang and Sony has found a way to continue establishing its own Spider-Verse with Garfield, starting with the recent success of Venom and Into the Spider-Verse. Be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend to find out what the studio brings to the table next!


Minggu, 18 Agustus 2019

An Update On Daniel Craig's Bond 25 Injury

An Update On Daniel Craig's Bond 25 Injury
Daniel Craig's 007 playing a tense game of chess in Spectre

It's been a long and difficult road getting Bond 25 to the big screen, and earlier this month, it was dealt another blow when it was reported that Daniel Craig suffered an injury during filming in Jamaica. Apparently the actor slipped while running, resulting in an ankle injury that caused the production to be temporarily suspended. Now there is an official update on the status of Daniel Craig and Bond 25. Check it out:


Daniel Craig’s ankle injury will unfortunately require surgery to repair, but the fact that it is minor surgery at least indicates that the injury is perhaps not as bad as it initially appeared or could have been. It sounds like he will be back on his feet pretty quickly too, with only two weeks of physical rehabilitation after he undergoes the surgery.


Following the initial report of Daniel Craig’s injury, we heard that production on Bond 25 would be only be briefly suspended, and that seems to be the case. According to the official James Bond Twitter account, production on Bond 25 will continue while Daniel Craig is rehabilitating. That might not have been possible had Daniel Craig’s injury been more severe and required a longer recovery time.




Fortunately, similar to what happened with Tom Cruise’s injury on Mission: Impossible - Fallout, work will still be done on Bond 25 while Daniel Craig recovers. So despite the previous delays and the potentially catastrophic consequences of a Daniel Craig injury, Bond 25 is still on track to meet its April 2020 release date.


Supposedly Daniel Craig was filming a scene where he was running when he slipped and fell in an awkward way that resulted in an extremely painful injury. This isn’t the first injury Daniel Craig has suffered as a part of his time as 007, as his tenure as the spy has been plagued with injuries from the start.


From losing teeth on Casino Royale to losing the tip of his finger and tearing a muscle on Quantum of Solace to injuring his knee on Spectre to his latest ankle injury on Bond 25, it is no wonder that Daniel Craig has on occasion been quite hyperbolic in describing his reticence to return to the franchise. Are you sure you want the role, Richard Madden?




Daniel Craig’s injury isn’t the only problem Bond 25 has faced, as the sequel to 2015’s Spectre has been beset by all manner of problems. Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle left the film over the oft-cited creative differences, and he was replaced by True Detective Season 1 and Beasts of No Nation director Cary Joji Fukunaga.


The script for the film has also went through different writers with a lingering question of if it is even ready now. Oh, for the days when just getting Daniel Craig to return to the role seemed like the biggest impediment to Bond 25.


Despite the slings and arrows it has faced, this latest news is encouraging that Daniel Craig will be okay and that Bond 25 will proceed as scheduled and meet its release date.




The as-yet-unnamed Bond 25 is set to open on April 8, 2020. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of this year’s biggest movies.