It's been a week! Let's dig in again, people! News on the next Harry Potter movie, the solo Batman film, Hellboy and more!
Fantastic Beasts 2 Synopsis
Warner Brothers revealed the official synopsis of the next upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter movie, Fantastic Beats And Where To Find Them 2, to celebrate the movie going in front of the cameras as we speak (or I type and you read, rather). Check out the synopsis below, which thankfully reveals that the focus of the sequel does not leave the newly introduced characters of the first film behind in favor of a younger Albus Dumbledore.
J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for the film, which opens in 1927, a few months after Newt helped to unveil and capture the infamous Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. However, as he promised he would, Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander. The adventure reunites Newt with Tina, Queenie and Jacob, but his mission will also test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world. The film expands the wizarding world, moving from New York to London and on to Paris. There are also some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of the books and film series.
New Valerian Clips
Valerian is the Luc Besson directed adaptation of the franco-belgian comic Valerian et Laurelie and will soon storm into our theatres with an explosion of weird and whacky sci-fi flavour! Check out the newest clip of the movie above and read the synopsis below!
In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
The Batman Solo Movie Noir Themed?
Batman solo movie director Matt Reeves is doing the PR rounds for his current movie "War of the Planet of the Apes" and is obviously getting a lot of questions regarding his first DC movie, the Batman solo film with Ben Affleck.
Talking to Variety, he had quite a few things to reveal about his approach and the tone his movie is going to take.
"Let’s put it this way. I’ve never worked with them, but my experience with them so far has been really good. As I describe what I want to do, they seem really excited. So its the beginning of a journey. When I came in to do Apes, I had no idea, I had never made a studio film like that before. Even Cloverfield, though it came out through Paramount, was not really a studio film. Bad Robot had final cut so it was like making an indie, and so they were just really supportive and released the movie so it wasn’t really a studio film. These two movies, I’ve been able to make exactly the movie I wanted to make. Whatever flaws are in there are in some way we weren’t able to achieve something, I wasn’t able to pull something off, we didn’t have enough time, or whatever it is. It is also not something where I look back and go, ‘That damn studio compromise.’ So I think there’s a way in which you can work with a studio. I’ve never worked with any studio other than Fox, so its going to be an exploration for me. I’m excited to say that thus far they seem really excited about it and I suppose if we should ever come to an impasse then we’d have to resolve it one way or another. I’m very hopeful and positive about it."
"What I see in Batman that I find so interesting is that, in a way, he reminds me of Caesar, in that he is a character with a really troubled past who is grappling within himself to try to do the right thing in a really imperfect world, in a corrupt world. That provides an opportunity, again, if you want to take that point-of-view storytelling — and I can imagine the story as being like a noir. The originals from the golden age were detective stories. I think if you can marry that with the personal, there’s a chance to do something very exciting.”
The noir influence excites me A LOT, as my favorite version of Batman is always heavily Noir themed (like in Batman Year One, or the Nolan movies), so I think this is absolutely the way to go, especially if Reeves maybe goes deeper into the detective aspect of the character, which the movies so far only explored secondary beyond Batman's ability to kick some butt.
Rick & Morty Season 3 Trailer And Release Date
Get ready to be as schwifty as you can get, because your old pal's Rick & Morty return soon on Adult Swim with their third season on July 30th! Check out the full trailer above and get ready to go crazy again!
Inhumans First Trailer
ABC/ Marvel Studios' new superhero TV series, set in the MCU, has finally released its first, official trailer and you can check it out above! It introduces the main characters of the Inhuman royal family, Black Bolt, Medusa and more and show the internal struggle that they will have to go through in the IMAX shot series! The first two episodes will be shown in theatres as a special IMAX screening, after which the rest of the show will be broadcast in the US by ABC.
To be honest, I think it actually looks quite terrible in every way. Not seeing comic accurate costumes at all is not ok anymore in an age where the CW network gives us accurate comic costumes 4 times (soon 5 times) a week on a far lower budget than what ABC spends. But even outside of that it just looks cheap and empty. I don't know. I'll remain hopeful, because for TV shows the pilot is often very different in quality and look than the rest of the series, so it still could turn out to be an interesting watch!
Neil Marshall Talks Hellboy Reboot
It was recently announced that director Neil Marshall (Descent, Dog Soldiers, Game of Thrones) will do a reboot of the Hellboy movie franchise, that is not going to be like the Guillermo Del Toro adaptation, but a lot closer to the far darker and more horror themed comic book from Dark Horse and Mike Mignola!
The director recently talked a bit about his upcoming Hellboy film during an episode of the Post Mortem Podcast and he had this to say about his approach to the film and the effects:
“It’s definitely going to be as practical as we can possibly make it. I love to do stuff in camera whenever I possibly can, and use CG as the amazing tool that it is, to enhance or expand upon the world, but not to use it to replace reality, when you can do it real.”
He also revealed to go dark with the film and possibly R rated, like other comic adaptations (Logan and Deadpool recently for example).
"We’ve been granted permission to do it R-rated, which for me is just like taking the cuffs off. It’s like, okay, so now we can just make the movie we want to make. It’s not like I’m going to force it to be R-rated, but if it happens to come out that way, just because of my own sensibilities, then fine. And nobody’s going to stop us. So, that’s the main [difference]. And I’m sure, obviously, the success of things like Deadpool and Logan have not hurt that cause. But, also, when you go back the original material, it is kind of bloody, so I’m going to embrace that.”
As a HUGE Hellboy fan I am beyond excited for this one. Don't get me wrong, I really like the two Del Toro Hellboy movies, but to me as someone who read every single Hallboy/BPRD related comic ever released, it felt very different to the source material. Hellboy in the comics is much more of an old, gruff, Clint Eastwood type of character and even sidekicks like Abe Sapien aren't the comedic figures they have been played as in the older movies. Plus the comics are far more horror than fantasy, which the movies didn't really go for overall.
The new direction seems very close to the comics, so to me that is a great thing! Can't wait!
