Tag: Suicide Squad

Warner Brothers Just Changed the Game. Will Release Every New Movie On HBO Max in 2021

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Holy smokes. Even with the film industry cratering due to the pandemic, I never thought I’d see the day a major movie studio would bite the bullet and start releasing blockbuster movies straight to streaming. It’s like the legal version everyone my age dreamed of after growing up pirating movies off Napster and Kazaa. Allegedly.

It all starts with Wonder Woman 1984 being released in theaters and on HBO Max at the same exact time on Christmas Day. I cannot overstate how MONUMENTAL of a shift that is in the movie industry. Who knows if this will last beyond 2021, but this is an awesome test because we’ve all seen media move towards streaming more and more the last few years. Sure, there are some movies that you really would prefer to see on the big screen, but with 50 inch 4K TVs selling for like $250 these days, it has become less important. And not to go completely dark on everyone, but with Covid and more and more mass shootings popping up, it’s completely understandable if you’d rather watch a movie from your couch. Especially with movie tickets going for like $20 a pop at this point.

How this all works financially I’m not exactly sure yet. I know the studios held out for as long as they realistically could as they pushed the premiere dates of movies like Wonder Woman, which would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in normal times. As Papa Giorgio pointed out, WB actually owns HBO Max so they’re essentially using this as an incentive to bring in new subscribers. I guarantee you they get more subscribers than they would have before when the biggest benefit to having HBO Max was being able to watch Fresh Prince re-runs and the upcoming Justice League Directors Cut. Both things I will watch, but not something the typical consumer is throwing their credit card at you for.

Now we’ll be able to watch Dune, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, The Matrix 4, Space Jam and all kinds of stuff right from home. Maybe it’s because I’m an introvert, but that sounds amazing to me.

It is a risky strategy because all of these movies will come “at no extra cost” (until they raise the price like Netflix does twice a year). So I don’t know if they just got past a point where it’s more economical to just stream it and try to recoup some money through subscriptions rather than hold out hope, push release dates even further, and possibly lose incredibly valuable buzz. I mean Papa Giorgio and I joke all the time how we would’ve paid like $75 bucks just to watch Tenet on streaming because we weren’t about to go to a theater. But for now this is an incredible shift in the typical way of doing business.

It remains to be seen if any other major studios follow suit, but I wouldn’t recommend investing in movie theater chains any time soon.

BREAKING: Warner Bros. Chooses James Gunn to Write and Direct Next Suicide Squad Film

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james gunn

WOW! Talk about coming out of nowhere. And talk about a huge “EFF YOU” to your former employer.

A little over a month ago, we touched upon the James Gunn-Guardians of the Galaxy drama and what it could mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. Now, the very same man who was shunned by one comic-book-movie megaverse is being looked at as a savior for the other one.

At this point, details are still few and far between, but as relayed by CinemaBlend it appears as though Gunn is going to be the guy to write and/or direct the next Suicide Squad movie.

Apparently, Gunn will take a different approach to the movie than what we saw in the first one. With the mixed reviews Suicide Squad received, that’s probably not such a bad idea. (I didn’t think it was terrible, per se, but it was definitely disappointing.) Exactly what this new approach entails, only time will tell, but some believe it may be a new take on the story entirely, basically giving Gunn carte blanche.

Image result for jared leto joker

How about we start by getting rid of Leto? PLEASE??!!

Some may be perturbed that Warner Bros. could so easily dismiss something that another industry giant saw as inexcusable. But no matter how you feel, it’s an extremely bold move from a studio that has shown in recent months that it’s not afraid to shake things up and go for the gold.

Does this mean Dave Bautista is now definitely out as Drax in the MCU, as he said he would be if Gunn didn’t return? Will the DCEU – or whichever of the still-to-be-determined multiverses Warner Bros. is trying to push – finally have a movie that rivals something in the MCU? Will a bunch of social-media warriors rise up and force Warner Bros. to reconsider?

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Your move, Dave. Whatcha gonna do?

SO MANY EXCITING THINGS COULD HAPPEN.

As I’ve said before, the jury’s out on who Gunn might be as a man, but there’s no doubt that the guy is a helluva movie-maker.

Grab your popcorn, folks. This could be a good one.

Henry Cavill Quits Role of Superman as DC Universe Collapses on Itself

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IGN – Henry Cavill has reportedly quit the role of Superman. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the actor has apparently parted ways with Warner Bros. after three films in the role.

Following Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Cavill was in talks to cameo in the upcoming Shazam! According to THR, contract talks broke down, and the chances for a further appearance are all but through. Apparently, scheduling conflicts have become an issue for Cavill and the studio, which is supported by the actor’s new role as Geralt in Netflix’s The Witcher.

I’d like to say I took this news better than I actually did, but I looked more like this while reading the news that Henry Cavill is out as Superman

We already saw the demise of the DC Entertainment Universe coming after Justice League came out to very “meh” reactions from fans and that was before Jennifer Garner sent the Batfleck to rehab.

Thanks a lot, Elektra.

It was already a pretty well known secret that Ben Affleck’s time as Batman was nearing its end, especially after his Batman standalone project got canned. Now, as the article mentions, Affleck will likely play a small role in Suicide Squad 2 before hanging up his batarang.

(Despite the jumbled plot, the weak villain, and the terrible ending, Suicide Squad was actually very entertaining, which is why Margot Robbie and Will Smith are billionaire movie stars.)

Now it comes out that Henry Cavill is likely out as Superman and it’s a goddamn shame because Cavill was the best Superman since Christopher Reeve. (Sorry Dean Cain) With Tom Welling as an honorable mention, mostly because he played more Clark Kent than Superman and also because Smallville will forever be branded as the show that sex slavery cult leader Allison Mack was on in the 2000s.

But seriously Cavill was great, albeit the movies were not. Man of Steel was pretty good, maybe a little slow as yet another origin story, but an entertaining entry that kicked off the DCEU and even prominently featured Detective Stabler.

Always a plus.

Batman vs Superman looked super promising as it had an excellent teaser trailer, but when the movie finally came out it was a nearly 3 hour confused mess. Not to mention Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther is one of the worst casting decisions in recent memory.

Let us not forget though, arguably the best 60 seconds in the entire DCEU history; Bruce Wayne shit talking Superman right to his face.

Then came Justice League, which as mentioned above, was very meh. Not terrible, not great. Lets put it this way; I skipped seeing it in theaters and ultimately ended up watching it on a 5 inch screen on a plane.

I was looking forward to seeing what Cavill and DC could do to salvage this property though. They were never going to compete with Marvel; that ship sailed a long time ago. But they could have carved out a very interesting niche with some of the most popular comic book stories of all time. Some of which Cavill himself mentioned, such as “Superman: Red Son” where in an alternate reality Superman grew up in the Soviet Union instead of the good old USA and how that affects world history as we now know it. I would see the shit out of that.

Or a buddy cop film with the Green Lanterns? Stop trying to build exactly what Marvel has built in giant ensemble films because what Marvel had going for it was a decade plus of great movies leading up to the Avengers. DC had Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern..

Anyways…

I have yet to see the new Mission Impossible, but Cavill looked like a goddamn snack in the trailers so I’ll have to check that out.

You won’t be without Cavill too long though as he recently signed on to play Geralt in the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher. I am stoked for that. I only got into the Witcher when the 3rd game dropped, but that is something that is dripping with potential for Cavill.

Playing Geralt of Rivia will allow Cavill to continue being the action star that he clearly is, but The Witcher is a lot sexier than Superman ever was. He’s basically a dangerous, cocky, wandering demon slayer that always has some time for the ladies in his life.

Poor Khal Drogo though, huh? Aquaman hasn’t even come out yet and Cavill has already put an expiration date on Momoa’s superhero career unless his upcoming solo film turns out to be even bigger than Vinny Chase’s premiere.

So When Are We Getting This Aquaman Trailer?

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All signs point to the Aquaman trailer finally dropping at San Diego Comic Con on July 21st, which feels late because we haven’t seen *anything* from this movie and it comes out on December 21st. So to have not even seen a teaser yet feels odd, but its done a pretty good job of building up the hype train. James Wan did technically tease an Aquaman fight scene while promoting his own Funko Pop figure, but that hardly counts.

The DCEU has been super hit or miss with Man of Steel (55 Metascore), Batman v Superman (44 Metascore), Suicide Squad (40 Metascore) Wonder Woman (76 Metascore), and Justice League (45 Metascore). Wonder Woman is the only one of that group to even crack 56 on Metacritic so its been a mixed bag. They’ve all been entertaining if nothing else, but the majority of these movies have been plagued by their tone. Do we want to be dark? Was that too dark? Should we do mass reshoots to be less dark and more cheeky (i.e. Suicide Squad) or just try and be everything to everyone?

With all that being said Momoa brought a welcome comic relief to the film.

But he also can still throw the hands.

So I for one am very excited about this movie, and with that I think DC has already achieved the No. 1 goal, which was to make Aquaman not look soft. After years of getting roasted on everything from internet message boards to Robot Chicken, it could have been a tall task to make the King of Atlantis cool again.

Having Khal Drogo, son of Khal Bharbo, leader of his khalisar and the Great Khal was a good start. Maybe I’m biased because I’m a huge Game of Thrones guy, but Jason Mamoa has been a perfect choice to give this IP a jump start. They could have easily picked some clean cut skinny dude to slip into a green and gold costume and that would have been an easy choice, a disaster, but an easy choice.

Instead they doubled down on the head of the Dothraki. Really it was already an uphill battle trying to best the OG Aquaman as portrayed by one Vincent Chase.

Good luck topping that.

So I am looking forward to this trailer and I’m hoping DC has learned something useful from the massive hit Wonder Woman was coupled with the mostly disappointing other entries. Just let Momoa do his thing and get out of the way.