The Deadpool franchise continues to have the best marketing of any Fox comic book movie and maybe best of any comic book movie. It helps that Ryan Reynolds seems to be 100% bought into the character and the franchise. Here we get our first good look at Josh Brolin's Cable in action. Brolin is going to have a really successful May, coming off of playing the mad Titan Thanos in Infinity War and then Cable in Deadpool 2. He looks fantastic in both.

One thing I'm interested in seeing is how this sequel is received by critics. While the first movie definitely deserved the praise and reviews it got, it also felt like a lot of critics thought that Deadpool was an "anti-comic book movie" when the reality was, it was the most comic book movie Fox has ever done. Yes, the film pokes fun at tropes in comic book movies, but that's what the character of Deadpool does in the comics as well. And yes, this movie will make fun of other comic book movies (I nearly choked on the line of "It's a metal arm, it's not like we're trying to remove a mustache"). But that's again, in character. Looking from everything released so far this movie is going to double down on all that so it makes me wonder if some critics will realize they've been duped into loving and praising a super comic-accurate comic book movie. We'll see.

The post Deadpool, Meet Cable Trailer…Sort of appeared first on MTR Network.

We told you.

No seriously, go to the end of our last review for The Flash when we were discussing trailers. We told you that this Venom trailer would be underwhelming at best.

Look, let's call this what it is: A desperate attempt by Sony to try to prove they can make Spider-Man related comic book movies 1. Without the MCU and 2. Without Spider-Man. This was always a bad idea and was always doomed to fail.

To make it worse, it looks like they're doing an origin story, but with no Spider-Man which is just, even worse.

This is going to end poorly. To me, Venom, while popular and looks cool, when it comes to being a good Spider-Man villain, he's not even Top 10. He's basically the Punisher at this point, an anti-hero. And that's not touching all the Agent Venom stuff. This was just not a good idea.

The post Sony’s Venom Teaser Trailer Drops and it’s Underwhelming at Best appeared first on MTR Network.

In 2015, CBS announced that it would be bringing Star Trek back to the airwaves.   Having grown up watching all the reruns of the original series with my father and being a Trek fan, I was excited about the possibility of a new series.  I have seen every episode of every one of the shows.  Deep Space Nine was my favorite, followed by seasons 3-7 of The Next Generation and Enterprise.  I found myself a little concerned when the decision was announced to make Discovery available only via CBS' streaming app.   I was deeply hurt by what I saw as the mistreatment of another favorite show on the network (Person of Interest) and wasn't sure I wanted to give CBS my money, despite my love of the series.

Then they announced Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh were the leads.  I was hooked.  They aired the first episode on network television.  I was in.  I have watched all the episodes, many of them several times.  I can honestly say that I have watched DS9 twice, TNG twice, and Enterprise twice.  Discovery is the first series I feel is imminently rewatchable.  Here are five reasons you need to jump on board right away.

An Amazing Flagship

Many of the older versions of Star Trek have flagships that are constitution class, or derivatives of the Enterprise from the original series.  Discovery gives us a similar design, but new technology.  Fast travel in the past was based on Warp speed.  Discovery introduces the Spore drive, which allows them to make jumps almost instantaneously to a specified point in time and space.  It does this with the entire ship minus a disc in the saucer section spinning like a top.  The effect when you first see it is amazing.  The effect when you see them making 133 micro jumps to map a Klingon cloak is awe inspiring.

Inclusive Casting

The show came out the gate advertising a Malaysian woman and an African American woman as the leads.  They then went on to cast a Latino gay male, a White gay male (who they allowed to be in relationship with one another on the show, a rarity in television), a Nigerian woman, a Korean American man, an African American man, and a British Pakastani man, all in positions that were crucial and had a significant impact on the story.  In addition to showing a future that was diverse in face, it also showed a future that was diverse in contribution and experience.  The characters were not there for window dressing, unlike previous series.  They played a crucial role in the success or failure of the mission, and indeed the show itself.

Klingons That Truly Terrify

Let's be honest-our first introduction to the Klingons was John Colicos in brown face in the Original Series. John was a slim man, and aside from making menacing threats, was nothing to write home about.  This was followed up by Ricardo Montalban in the movie series.  I don't believe I need to comment on how unimpressive THAT was. Michael Dorn then gave us a more ridge-faced version of a Klingon in the Next Generation, but aside from some facial prosthetics and a grill that screams "get me to a dentist pronto", the Klingons were more feared for their reputation than their look.  We also got the sense that they were just another politicking nation, even though they spoke of honor and blood rites.

Discovery has given us Klingons that are not only physically imposing but ruthless, blood thirsty, and unapologetic.  They have a ship made of the coffins of their dead.  Consider that-they use their dead as armor.  Their facial features are stiff, which means you can't anticipate their next move in a battle.  They are willing to eat their enemies.  And as Voq proved, they will go through any means, including complete physical alteration, to achieve their goal, which right now is completely destroying the Federation.  If that's not terrifying I don't know what is.

Bryan Fuller

If you've watched a Bryan Fuller production, you already know why he's on this list.  His art direction and cinematography are always breathtaking.  His story telling is compelling, engaging, and complex.  From Dead Like Me to Voyager, from Hannibal and American Gods to Discovery, Bryan Fuller's imprint on the Trek Universe shows us a future that is fascinating, visually stunning, and profound.

It's Star Trek...DUH!

Discovery gives us the action of the rebooted Star Trek movie universe with the science and exploration that made Trek the television version of Trek.  Just when you think you will get bogged down in the science speak, we are launched into fantastic action sequences.  More than that, the show has heart.  We are shocked when a character turns on another.  We are devastated to learn the fate of a beloved character.  We cry when they lose, and celebrate when they win.   Our hearts quicken when we are anticipating what will happen next, and stunned when it happens because we didn't see it coming. The actors in this series work perfectly off of each other.   A show that can draw you in and make you feel the emotions that the characters are feeling is a show worth watching.

If you are a CBS fan, then getting the streaming service shouldn't be an issue.  I would recommend the version without commercials-while the show played just fine, the app would often freeze and crash during commercials.  You can also add CBS All Access as a channel via Amazon Prime if you are subscribed there.

The post No Fault in These Stars: 5 Reasons You Should Be Watching Star Trek Discovery appeared first on MTR Network.

This article may seem early, but it really is not.  Awesome Con indeed took place over Easter weekend.

The same weekend that Christ supposedly died and rose.

The same weekend of April Fool's Day.

The same event where one of the exhibitors was the C.I.A..  No, that does not stand for Cosplayers International Alliance.  The actual Central Intelligence Agency, complete with the official banner, the .gov website container, and the request by the individuals at the table not to photograph their faces.  (We will ignore the fact that the exhibit floor is flooded with cameras for the purposes of not only press, but also con attendees taking photos of cosplayers, and other amazing material, but yes, it is reasonable to think you can avoid your face appearing in a photo at such an event.)  They were there to, according to what they told me, "demystify their work."

(Except -aren't you spies?  Isn't the entire point of your work to be mysterious?)

They told another friend in attendance that they were recruiting.  I won't say what I think they were there for.  I'm probably already on a list for writing that previous paragraph.

This year Awesome Con celebrated the 80th anniversary of Superman with many panels and featured guests.  Tom Welling (Smallville), in one of his first comic convention appearances, discussed the history and impact of Superman with fellow Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum, Scott Snyder (Superman Unchained), Greg Capullo (Dark Nights: Metal) and Dan Jurgens (Action comics).  John Boyega (Star Wars, Pacific Rim) and Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars) were additional highlights along with a Star Wars the Last Jedi exhibit.  CW DC stars Cress Williams and Stephen Amell were also present for panels and autographs.

Highlights

• I don't know if they received additional feedback with regard to this, but I mentioned last year how incredibly packed the exhibit floor was, even while there was plenty of extra space that could have been used better.  This year the exhibit floor was set up in a way that was more easily navigated.  They used additional space I had not seen them use in the past.  That said, I strongly suspect that numbers may have been down.  A few cosplayers I photographed and spoke to mentioned having to scramble with their outfits because this year's convention happened pretty soon after the last one.  Add to that the fact that many individuals may have passed this year due to the holiday weekend, and the crowds felt lighter than years past.

• There was a diverse cross section of programming.  Three of the panels I went to were focused on the challenge of visible inclusion versus substantive inclusion with regard to underrepresented groups in media.  There were also panels on the science behind Black Panther as well as a return of the #TotallyAwesomeAsians panel discussing the lack of Asian representation in media and what it means to be Asian in America.

• Awesome Con continues to be a family friendly event.  Many of the exhibit floor sections were aimed at children.  NASA and the NSF made another appearance with events that were hands on, educational, and in line with the theme of the convention.  Creating sections throughout the days and evenings for children allows for adult convention goers to participate fully in the convention while introducing younger generations to the convention life.

• Star Wars the Last Jedi had an exhibit of props from the film.  While it was cool to see the outfits that Rey, Luke, and Kylo wore, the exhibit fell a little flat for me.  I will be honest-I found myself comparing it to the Stan Lee exhibit from last year, which included props, drawings, lithographs, and other material.  This exhibit had six pieces.  Given how popular the film was I am curious as to why they didn't arrange for more pieces for the exhibit.  The fact that there was a set up for a line for the few pieces we got seemed a bit...well, off.

Overall Awesome Con was and continues to be an enjoyable experience.  The atmosphere is always light-hearted, friendly, and fun.   Awesome Con returns next year April 26-28..

The post Superman and the C.I.A.-Awesome Con 2018 Recap appeared first on MTR Network.

I'm assuming that anyone reading these reviews isn't new to the world of WicDiv so my pseudo-cryptic titles should make perfect sense to you.

At its core, WicDiv is a comic about cycles. Cycles that, once set in motion, are doomed to repeat themselves and end tragically. We are coming to the end of a cycle that Persephone and Baal and Cassandra thought they were breaking but instead they appear to be in the same place as their predecessors. So it's fitting that we open with 1923 again.

Maniac Minerva

Mini seems to be at the heart of these machinations. Whether you believe Ananke has takenover her body or not (I do), 1923 Minerva is also a cold-blooded manipulator and an accomplice (ringleader?) to Ananke's plans.

Present-day Minerva is just as wily. Woden is on to her and she uses her faux naivete to convince him that she was working with Ananke because the crone told her she could help her live longer. Woden (in a bone-headed move that surprises no one) believes her.

I'm Not Afraid of Who I Am

Meanwhile, Cassandra and Persephone/Laura are suspicious of Minerva but also find themselves falling for her tricks when she convinces Laura to look for a room Baal is hiding from the Pantheon. Then Minerva "innocently" sends Baal after Persephone by mentioning that she got a "weird text" about a "secret room". I would be angrier at Minerva pitting the former couple against each other but it gave us this panel so I'm not too mad.

Shout-out to Jamie McKelvie for the meticulous ab work. 

Questions, Theories & #Wildt Speculations

• Currently, Minerva/Ananke has three of the four heads she needs. If 1923 was a prologue to how this tends to go down, then she's now at the phase where she has to get rid of the gods before they put all the pieces together but have they done enough to figure out what's happening or are they falling into her trap?
• Minerva mentions the time of the Franks which is around  445 AD when Lucifer extended his time. Did that cycle give Ananke the idea to get the gods to do her bidding by promising them more time?
• Baal's true identity as Ba'al Hammon, the Carthaginian deity whom children were sacrificed to, has been revealed and he also throws away his lightning bolt chain. As the most devout of the Pantheon it makes sense that he would take even the worst parts of his godhood seriously, but to what end? I think he thought the sacrifices would delay the darkness but what if the darkness was just Ananke's way of controlling him? It feels like Ananke told everyone what they wanted to hear.

Adieu until next time.

The post Wicked + Divine #35: Once More We Return appeared first on MTR Network.

We’ve been screaming BLACK HISTOREEEEEEEEE! since Beyoncé’s iconic performance/Black Panther Party homage at the 2016 Super Bowl and now here we are in 2018 which so far has been a banner year of Black people showing up and showing out on that ass. With last night’s Coachella performance Beyonce became another highlight of this bait and switch year of Black excellence.

Black Panther was the first to snatch our wigs and throw them back at us. No one (besides racists) was expecting the Marvel movie to fail but we also weren’t expecting Ryan Coogler to take a popcorn superhero movie and give us a treatise on the relationship between African-Americans and continental Africans wrapped up in stunning visuals of an African country untouched by colonization. Coogler was the first to spectacularly secure the bag and Black Panther continues to break records as its sales climb two months after the film’s release. At one point, in a major superhero movie a protagonist refers to white people as colonizers and later a white man is forced to shut up because he does not have the authority to speak in front of the Black royalty assembled. Marvel paid Ryan Coogler good money to put that onscreen and then the world paid to see it. Insert Weebay gif here.

Then, a few weeks later, Donald Glover debuted the second season of Atlanta on FX because he decided Black History Month wasn’t going to end in February this year. Each episode of Glover’s show has been met with outstanding critical acclaim. But for Black people, Atlanta is what you get when a Black creator is dedicated to portraying Black culture without giving any credence to the white gaze. Episodes like “Barbershop” tell non-Black people, you are invited to look in on my world but your opinions, your questions and your judgements are unnecessary and unwelcome. And guess what? It sells.

Now let’s talk about what Beyoncé sold to us. Last year, Beyoncé was slotted to perform at Coachella but due to her pregnancy she cancelled her performance. Coachella is an event mainly known for the rich, white people who come to the desert in appropriative clothes masquerading as “festival wear” to listen to music. Its owner has been called out for being an anti-gay, anti-abortion, Republican supporter. Basically, Coachella is problematic. Well, this year Beyoncé turned all that on its head when she came to perform at Coachella with an hour and forty-five-minute set spanning her entire discography. A set which paid tribute to the enduring spirit of African-Americans from the Divine 9 to HBCUs to stepping to marching bands and second line culture and she GAVE IT TO US FOR FREE!

“Ain’t that bout a bitch?” Those are the exact words Beyoncé uttered after pointing out that she is the first Black woman to headline the show in its 19-year history. So, what did Bey do after securing the top spot? She showed up and showed all the way out! After opening dressed as a bandleader crossed with an Egyptian queen, dance line in tow, she appeared in a BDK (Beyta Delta Kappa or Beyonce Delta Knowles) branded sweatshirt harkening to Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). Regally standing at the top of a set of pyramid shaped bleachers with an entire marching band and drumline below her, Beyoncé recreated a half-time show at an HBCU and turned it up to million. The musical arrangements wove Bey’s hits with southern, Black college staples like Juvenile’s “Back That Ass Up” and “Swag Surfin’”. And in case you thought Beyoncé didn’t know her HBCU or BGLO history, she gave you a probate line complete with “bugaboos” (represented here by her male dancers) and a step show to boot.

And because Beyoncé is Black af and doesn’t care about your white ass opinions, she took a moment to sing “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing”, also known as the Black National Anthem, and gave you a Nina Simone interlude during “Drunk In Love”. It’s not your fave could never. Your fave can’t. Period. Beyoncé got onstage for nearly two hours, showed the entire world the depths of African-American culture and signaled to Black people that this was for us and not for the thousands of people actually at the event. This is the power of the bait and switch. Beyoncé secured the top spot, packed the house and then said this isn’t for you. You can watch, you can enjoy, but this isn’t for you and your opinions are neither wanted nor welcome. (Looking at you Walmart Batman).

It is 2018 and Black people are still having “firsts” because of how white supremacy has locked us out of spaces due to fear of our excellence. And I get it because when we show up, we show out so you should be afraid because we’re always going to outshine you. But until you recognize our greatness we’re going to continue to slide in the door and let our people know that we belong here. We’ll take your Marvel money and your Coachella money and make this art for us because we love us for real.  

The post 2018: Year of the Beyt & Switch appeared first on MTR Network.

By the publishing of this, many who follow our site and listen to our podcasts will already know what happened.  The comic convention known as Universal Fan Con, designed to be more inclusive of underrepresented groups and a 2 year project in the making, never came to fruition.

In the ashes of that failure a community of individuals who had arranged to vend at the event gathered with others to pull together a replacement convention to help some vendors, performers, and supporters recoup at least a portion of their weekend.  Dubbed Wicomicon (for it's location on Wicomico street), it took place in an older building that wound up being a perfect location for gatherers to attend panels and meet new artists and vendors.

Many individuals who had planned to come to Universal Fan Con attended, some from right around the corner, and others from as far away as Canada and Japan.  The event also brought out individuals who had not heard of the original event but caught wind of this one as an opportunity to bring their families to meet talent they may not have been otherwise exposed to.  For some it was their first convention.  While it was not the weekend they were initially promised, original Universal Fan Con attendees really enjoyed the atmosphere, the panels, the vendors, and the opportunity to fellowship with other convention goers.

What this group was able to coordinate in less than 7 days is to be respected and commended.  As one participant mentioned, it truly highlighted that there is a strong and dedicated community amongst underrepresented groups in convention fandom.  The support is there.  The interest is there.   People are wiling to come out when given access and opportunity.  The access just has to be provided, and the trust that the community places in those who say they are going to provide an event must be honored and valued.

Above is a mini video of the event and some reactions to the event.

The post Turning Failure to Triumph-Wicomicon 2018 and Community appeared first on MTR Network.

When discussing her involvement with Marvel's Cloak and Dagger there are two things that make Gina Prince-Bythewood light up: the chemistry between the shows young leads and the beauty of the story. The director of Love & Basketball and Beyond the Lights is accustomed to intimate love stories and with Cloak & Dagger she gets to bring that intimacy to the story of two teens discovering themselves, each other and their powers. We got a chance to talk to her about adapting her aesthetic to this genre and creating a superhero show her sons would want to watch.

The post Director Gina Prince-Bythewood Talks Cloak & Dagger appeared first on MTR Network.

With all the focus on big blockbuster films from Marvel and Pixar and even films like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, it's easy to forget about some of the other films coming out. I knew Creed II was coming out but completely forgot about it. Seeing this trailer makes me instantly excited. Creed was a surprising hit. It was hard not to believe that this wasn't just Hollywood trying to bleed a franchise dry for all it had. There were already like 50 Rocky films and it felt like a cheap way of continuing to make more. But that wasn't the case at all. A young director named Ryan Coogler (maybe you've heard of him) teamed up with Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone to make an impactful and emotional film that in my opinion, is even better than any of the Rocky films. While Coolger isn't returning as the director for Creed II, another young black director has been given an opportunity carry on this franchise and I'm really excited to see what Steven Caple Jr brings to the table.

This trailer seems to carry the same emotional weight as the first film and is going to get me in the theater day one.

The post Official Creed II Trailer appeared first on MTR Network.

The Star Wars franchise has been under a bit of attack in the past month. Some are claiming that Solo proves that people are tired of the Star Wars films and that this is a backlash in response to the SJW-approach that the franchise has taken, despite the fact that Star Wars has always been a story about rebels fighting the status quo. In the midst of all this, the women of Star Wars have been attacked both on and off-screen with actors like Kelly Marie Tran being run off of Instagram. Since I’m a filthy casual when it comes to the Star Wars universe, I decided to pull together my #ThirstOrder co-hosts to talk about the women of the Star Wars franchise and how fandom has both erased and maligned the contributions of these characters and actresses.

• Ok, first up, tell me about your relationship with the female characters of Star Wars? What has been your impression of how women have been treated in the franchise and in fandom?

The Doctor: My relationship...hmm.  I’ve watched every Star Wars film in the theater. Even though they hypersexualized Leia in the original trilogy, she always came off as the most competent and fearless of the bunch, all while being basically sidelined to highlight the men in the series.  I’ve struggled with Padme since the prequels. Her portrayal in the Clone Wars series also did not help with that in part because she was a pedophile in the prequels and so focused on that problematic relationship that it interfered with her ability to carry out her duties in the cartoon series.  All told, the women of Star Wars up until the most recent series have been a problem. I have appreciated Rey’s story and how it is unfolding. The journey of a young woman abandoned as a child and who grew up to be self-sufficient while discovering what it means to be who she is. Leia is still portrayed as the heart and center of the world, and in a better way. Her appearance in the Rebels cartoons solidifies the fact that from a young age Leia’s moral compass has been properly rooted and aimed. Clone Wars gave us the wonder that is Ahsoka, who is an amazing Jedi knight who discovers early on what Luke tells us in The Last Jedi-the Jedi are a problem that needs to end.  Other amazing female characters were also introduced in Clone Wars-Barris Offee, Luminara Unduli, Steela Gerrera, Asajj Ventress, and the Nightsisters. The Nightsisters were amazing; an entire planet, matriarchal, force sensitive, and in control. The women in the Clone Wars (not Padme)  were knowledgeable, fierce, competent, and wise.  Star Wars: Rebels gave us Hera Syndulla, the captain and the heart of a small band of rebels, and Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian who comes to wield a Black Saber and is also instrumental in the team’s success. Rose and Maz Kanata, along with Vice Admiral Holdo, continues the tradition that I personally feel was created by the cartoon series of giving us amazing and competent women.

Moji (Tv Movie Mistress):  Coming in with the original movies, Padme came off as a weak character within her own story, but only in comparison to the fact that the majority of the characters are going about wielding light saber’s trying to destroy the Sith as opposed to using words and diplomacy.  I do agree with The Doctor that her inappropriate relationship with Anakin really didn’t portray her as a person capable of making sound long-term decisions. While with Leia in the original movies though quite capable she did not have enough of a personality outside of the men.

Over the years the extended universe with The Clone Wars series, subsequent movies, and the comic books have allowed me to gain a more full-bodied view of the women of Star Wars outside of Padme and Leia.

Star Wars has moved to bring to the forefront more stories from its women.  Now while the movies have caught up a bit to the ideals it purports to tell in story form, the fandom has not. Is it necessary that white men who have been so centered in the movies be placated? Not necessarily. As we’ve seen, Solo is the epitome of the type of movie they claim to want but has also taken in the least in terms of the box office. But the remainder of the fandom is welcoming and able to have discussions for days on the impacts of this movie and that’s what I want to see more of out there.

Maythinee Washington: I’ll answer the second question first. I’m not in the fandom, if we’re using the term “fandom” to mean the larger body of online fans. For all of the things I’m a fan of, I’ve not really participated in online forums and conversations, etc. Within my own social media circles, sure-- with people I already know and would speak with face to face about geeky things is where I would talk about Star Wars. Part of that is just acknowledging my energy is finite, part of that is that the people who I know who are fans of the things I’m a fan of are pretty smart-- they keep me well-fed, even if I disagree with them (sometimes, especially if there is disagreement), and a part of that is outright fear. Even though what has happened with Kelly Marie Tran is the incident at present, Gamergate wasn’t long ago. And even that wasn’t the first. No matter what the fandom is, no matter where it is you congregate as a geeky femme, it can be emotionally or sometimes physically taxing, if not outright dangerous. Even deciding to contribute to this article, I was somewhat afraid of what attention it might attract. But, like Kelly, I’m afraid and doing it anyway.

Something I also want to say about “the fandom” is that most fans are not assholes. MOST are not. Yet, splintered factions who are hateful are very powerful. And they are seemingly inexhaustible. It’s like they feed their hatred to keep on hating.

Now, back to your first Q … The original trilogy, for me, is the gold standard. That’s why I want to focus on Marcia Lucas. You don’t have Star Wars as we know it without this woman. That’s why the hate driven towards the actors at the intersection of gender and/or race in these new films is especially gross to me. It is, as you said, Shanna, films about rebels fighting the power -- as Lucas himself has even said, coming out of an era of the Vietnam War. That fact coupled with the erasure of the contributions of women to the actual story development of these films is what makes the hate gross. Marcia Lucas, George Lucas’ first wife was a key player in Episodes IV, V, and VI. She won an Oscar for editing Star Wars. Marcia’s absence is blatant when we get to the prequels. George Lucas is a man with big ideas that needed reining in and something (or someone) to work against. Boundaries are necessary for artists. Boundaries are gifts. He needed to be told no. You watch the Red Letter Media take down of those prequels, you’ll see how no one is reining him in, no one is telling him no. It’s right there: RLM uses behind the scenes footage. George is basically the Emperor in his New Clothes: he’s naked and no one is telling him the truth because they’re either too afraid, or too desperate to stay in proximity to the Emperor (there’s some pun to be made about the fable I’m borrowing from and Star Wars and The Emperor, and Lucas becoming the antagonist of his own work, but I’m not quippy enough at the moment). Those videos by RLM, by the way, make up one of the most brilliant connect-the-dots breakdowns on how storytelling works, period. The evidence is right there: there’s no Marcia-- there’s not even Lawrence Kasdan-- and we got poorly developed prequels as a result.

You never saw me because I never mattered to you.

There’s also something that I’ve done some cursory (not-yet public/on social media) writing about in terms of brokenheartedness. When we have a good story, we’re sucked in. We get to be the heroes. We get to try them all on. That’s why, growing up, and watching these films, I wasn’t just Carrie Fisher’s brilliant Leia Organa. I was also Han. I was also Luke. Sometimes, I was the droids. The best times, I was Vader. And why I specifically shout out Marcia Lucas is because it is often the unseen contributions of women that allow us to celebrate men, whether in real life, like George Lucas himself who has the legacy of being this great creator, or in fiction with the heroic men of Star Wars. This is true for any endeavor whether it be in film or literature or civil rights: there are often some unseen, unnoted, marginalized people making major contributions that result in someone else’s genius. We wouldn’t have related to any of these characters if they were poorly wrought. I relate to them all because of these performances, the story, and how the story was edited. How it unfolded. Marcia helped make each character beat specific enough to be universal. And I could connect to that.

And this is where the brokenheartedness comes in when it comes to the vitriolic members of the fandom: I was raised on the same diet of films that you were. I clocked the same hours of repeated viewing; of interweaving my life with the film’s lore. I was able to take the imaginative leap to relate to these characters even though they don’t look like me or are not the same gender as I am. And you have no interest in taking even a moment to relate to a character that looks more like me than she looks like you. When you see me revel in characters I can finally relate to more directly, you make it about your loss of childhood. I had the same childhood connections that you did, but they don’t matter to you because you never saw me. You never saw me because I never mattered to you.

Shanna: I’m probably the latest to the Star Wars fandom. I saw the original trilogy right before the prequels came out. I liked the originals but I haven’t gone back to rewatch them and most of what I know is because of pop culture and because I use Wikipedia to fill in gaps. I love Leia, I loved Padme but for me the new trilogy is where I’ve felt truly connected to the characters. Rey and Finn and Poe drew me in and bringing back the original actors, resonated because I know the importance of that legacy. I don’t watch Rebels but I love Ahsoka because of her character design and in my mind she’s Black (don’t @ me). All in all though, SW has always felt like a franchise where in order for a woman to be prominent, she has to be “one of the guys”. It could be my ignorance of the larger universe but I would love to see a female character in Star Wars that is very feminine or sexy and still very integral and capable. I think Q’ira in Solo was probably the closest to that. And Doctor Aphra in the comics although she, too, is morally grey. I think it’s telling that usually for women to be well-rounded characters they have to ride a line of morality.

In terms of fandom, my connection to it has only been with since The Force Awakens dropped. I wasn’t deep into it during the prequels and the original trilogy was before my time so what I’ve seen has been largely angry fanboys. First about Finn being a major part of the story, then about Rey being the hero, and the introduction of Rose. It’s been really nasty to witness. My biggest complaint in regards to the women of Star Wars (that I know from the films) would be that the leads are just white brunettes which also doesn’t help with all the crazy fanboy theorizing that everyone must be related.

• A lot of the response to Solo is said to be an indication of how people felt about The Last Jedi. What did you think of TLJ and how did that influence your viewing of Solo?

The Doctor: I really enjoyed The Last Jedi.  I had theories-we all develop them when we love something and are anticipating the next chapter. All my theories were wrong but what they gave me was even better.  I will not lie, I was originally excited about the Solo trailer, but the more it played the less impressed I was with the lead.  However, after seeing Solo, I realize the trailers coupled with the lack of promotion did it a disservice.  Solo is a fun movie, Alden Ehenreich did a phenomenal job, and the movie kept me on the edge of my seat

Wakandan Sith Witch: I loved TLJ. 100%. Let me be clear: I LOVED TLJ! TLJ had no bearing on me wanting to see Solo however. At first, I did not want this movie. I didn’t find it necessary to have Han’s origin played out on screen. I thought that what we knew of him before the movie was enough. I wanted stories with new characters, new planets, new conflicts, etc.  At the time, I thought a Lando movie would have had a greater impact. Months passed and with the release of trailers and photos of the characters, I started to come around. I was on board fully when I learned Thandie Newton had a role. A black actress with a speaking part that is more than 5 words in a Star Wars film? Hell yes, take my money. I had no idea how let down and hurt I would be. I’m still rather salty and get shouty about it on the twitters. Tracking back to TLJ in relation to Solo, I think there can be a link between having TLJ just six months prior to Solo’s release contributed to Star Wars fatigue. I can’t say that this can be blamed fully on the issues behind the scenes that the production faced, however, putting this movie in May seems to have been a bad move. Plus, it felt as if they were afraid to market this movie after the director scandal. In the end I recognized Solo for what it was, a one-off set apart from the Original/Sequel Triologies. It’s a fun, ‘historical’ side adventure. Except for the fridging…that was not fun at all

Shanna: A quick aside on the fridging … we had two major films come out this May that “fridged” female characters. While I was shocked by Thandie’s quick absence from Solo, I understood the larger arc the story was trying to tell about losing partners and the effect it has on people. That being said, I think the story has the same emotional arc if we lose Woody Harrelson and have Val take on Becker’s role. And Thandie would have knocked that shit out of the park. Is everyone watching Westworld?

M.W. Short answer is that, like WSW, my viewing of TLJ did not directly influence my watching Solo. I echo her too in that I didn’t really want or feel a need for a stand-alone Han Solo origin story. I think prequels are challenging to do, no matter what the mythos is, and sometimes companies or creators overplay their hand and stretch the material beyond what it can hold (*cough* the three Hobbit movies *cough* -- Prometheus and Covenant *cough, cough*).

Harrison Ford is the highest grossing actor in U.S. box office history. Is it even possible to replace, replicate, or even imitate the charisma that put him there? I wasn’t bigly mad that the film was being made, but I felt no incentive to see it. Part of Han’s mystique for me was not being certain about his history. And his big growth arc as a character is in the original trilogy. So, from a storytelling standpoint, it’s like, how do you create an arc for a character that ends with that same character in a place needing to be resolved by another arc? In spite of all of that, Solo is entertaining. Considering all the rumors and doom and gloom, and in spite of all of the pressure on its cast and creative, it was fun. The idea of two more films in this vein, however, brings to mind of what doesn’t work with X-Men: Apocalypse-- i.e. the collision of the plausibility of what we’ve known about a character played by a beloved actor and any kind of stretched out attempt at integrity of story shoehorned into a prequel.

For me, The Last Jedi was phenomenal.  It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had at the cinema. That’s not hyperbole. I was in AWE watching that film. Awe--pure awe--is rare. It’s rare in life, let alone the movies. I loved everything about this film, from Rian Johnson killing all the sacred cows to Yoda once again being a Muppet. I loved FINALLY seeing Leia use the Force-- and in grand fashion, in a never-before-seen way. I was a mess because of how beautiful it was, and because CARRIE FISHER. There is also the whole dynamic between Rey and Luke that I loved. Arthur Chu said everything that needed to be said on that, and it’s collected here in this Twitter Moment I made: 

Arthur Chu on age and Luke in The Last Jedi

Chu says "Luke's arc is what he didn't know he needed to hear," and his articulation of it encapsulated something I couldn't quite articulate about a way this film matters. (Bonus: two tweets from Scott Mendelson)

And, of course, I loved Rose Tico and her sister. More on that in the next section.

Unlike The Doctor, I am staunchly against theorizing. I also have a rather broad definition of spoilers. A spoiler is knowing anything. So my spoiler aversion is a game of active avoidance. I delete all the social media apps from my phone leading up to a film’s release. I get that’s extreme but you hear lots of times, “it didn’t live up to the hype.” What’s the hype? It’s collections of opinions that weigh on you, forming a spectre that looms during your experience. We like to think that everything that we think and all we choose to do is autonomous, that we are 100% control and only affected by things we decide are going to affect us. I know I don’t always succeed in keeping it all out and sometimes the impact is not what I anticipate-- for example, some of the troubled Solo rumors were so pervasive, there was no avoiding them. But in the main, I know I’m susceptible to outside influence when it comes to forming my own opinion, so I act accordingly. I’m chasing surprise. I’m after awe. I want the novelty to really be novel.

I think that the cottage industries formed around geekdom and nerdom AND our penchant through social media to try to know everything or to use what we find out as leverage to gain clicks, views, and likes affects the moviegoing experience in ways that I’ve not seen many people talk about. Opinions do affect us. Especially from peers, whether they are peers from real life or online. And I think that the trolls of TLJ knew that enough to leverage their hateful opinions strategically. They were overly concerned with their preconceived notions and opinions about what should happen, and when those did not play out they got Big Mad and wielded their hateful opinions in the most destructive ways they could.

Shanna: Luckily, when Solo dropped, I was traveling and I was in New Orleans so if it wasn’t a cocktail, a live band or a delicious meal, I wasn’t checking for it. But I knew the rumors about Alden’s performance so I lowered my expectations. I never expect the Star Wars Story movies to be the epics of the trilogies so I was going to enjoy myself. I was similarly awed by TLJ like Maythinee so I wasn’t looking for that either. What I loved about Solo was that all those things you love about Han (the sweetness he tries to hide, the honor) are laid bare. He’s always been the good guy, the smuggler is just another persona he wears. Also, Lando … nuff said.

• Months after TLJ, Kelly Marie Tran continues to receive the bulk of SW fans’ hate about the film and even Daisy Ridley has had to pull back from social media. How do you think race and gender plays into the fandom’s treatment of these actors?

[It] makes me wonder if they believe the Sith are the good guys.

The Doctor: The original Star Wars centered White men.  The current Star Wars does not. People in power have always railed when they feel like what is entitled to them is being stripped away.  My inclusion does not means your exclusion but only those who are sick enough to want to horde everything for themselves and let others go without would believe that it does. Women being visible will always threaten fanboys who ride or die or only want to see themselves as the hero.  It’s the reason Mass Effect Andromeda got so much shit and was tabled.  Add race, and you have the perfect storm of toxicity and hate.  I was furious to see how Kelly Marie Tran has been treated since this whole thing started.  It’s almost as if these rabid fans fail to grasp the concept of higher order thinking. The Force Awakens was the conclusion of Han Solo’s story.  The Last Jedi was the conclusion of Luke Skywalker’s story.  Had she lived, and based on what was shared when Carrie Fisher passed away, Episode 9 would have served as the conclusion to Leia Organa’s story. The sad part is you have episode 7-9 serving as the stories for these original characters while passing the baton to the new generation (cause let’s be clear, all three of them are long in the tooth and probably don’t want to do this forever) but toxic fans are too short-sighted to see that.

TMM: The majority of the actors being harassed are women and people of color from the films, and those doing the harassing are white men. Simply because of a choice made to expand the world and bring in more fans and revenue. Which is such a weird thing to be mad at. It's like someone inviting more people to a party for a good time but you have that one friend who is firmly no new friends but is also not bringing anything extra to the table. It was a shame to see Kelly Marie Tran have to deal with so much hate disguised as dialogue and it underlies bigger socio-political issues in society, which is basically what Star War is all about. So the cognitive dissonance from Star Wars fans and their lack of understanding of the material they are supposedly defending makes me wonder if they believe the Sith are the good guys.

M.W.: I love Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico. I was astounded by Rian Johnson’s use of silence/no dialogue throughout the film, and was particularly spellbound by the scene of Paige Tico’s sacrifice that had a payoff when we first meet Rose. Both of these sisters were the first time I saw women of Asian descent truly centered in a property that I cared about so much. There’s a long way to go there. No prominent Asians in the MCU or the Arrowverse, and Tran is the first in Star Wars. Someone like George Takei should have been a blueprint for this genre, and it’s been 50 years and not much shifting, except in the Fast and the Furious franchise or if you count The Matrix Trilogy.  

I’m Black and Asian, and I feel that over the last decade, we’ve seen an increase in black representation in films, in part because descendants of the African diaspora-- though not a monolith-- have been more vocal and unified as one body on important agendas. There isn’t this level of affinity within Asian/Asian descendant groups.

In another forum, Shanna, you spoke about the limp and backhanded “support” of Tran that really is just another opportunity to tear her down: the stuff that’s like, “we all can agree that Rose sucks, but, the racist harassment is annoying.” I saw one such comment that dismissed Tran’s casting as just “pandering to the Chinese” That was just racist on its face: it assumed that Asians see each other and members of the diaspora the same as he did, as homogenous and interchangeable. Tran is Vietnamese-American, not a Chinese national, or of Chinese descent. All three of those identities are different and have histories amongst one another as groups. We need representation on multiple fronts in these blockbusters. We’re here. We’ve been here. We’re diverse, we have a lot to offer.

Why has Tran been the focus of the hate? The same reason Leslie Jones was for Ghostbusters. Women and people of color are easier targets because of institutionalized racism and sexism and the cultural habits that reflect and reinforce those sociohistorical patterns. That’s why Daisy Ridley has understandably withdrawn now, and why John Boyega was an early lightning rod when his face first showed up in The Force Awakens trailers-- trolls targeted them as scapegoats. Black men and white women, while marginalized, are more present in genre material. Women of color, however, are the more marginalized, and more absent, and so when they are present, they are the most visible.

Shanna: I agree about the women, and Kelly Marie Tran as a woman of color, being specifically targeted. We see it with Kathleen Kennedy as well with her role as the Feige of the Star Wars universe. This is a woman who is at the top of her craft and people (read: butthurt fanboys) are calling for her resignation for earning this franchise billions.

M.W.: Let me go back to my earlier point about brokenheartedness. These hateful cishet white male nerds saw nerdom and geekdom as theirs. Exclusively. They never saw anyone from any other permutation of identity than their own alongside them, enjoying the same things they did. They never bothered to look, it didn’t occur to them to look. And they could see an imaginary version of themselves as leads in these stories-- straight white dude story arcs are the backbone of Western stories, period. If you were queer/black/brown/female/femme/disabled, etc, you were invisible to this cohort of white dude nerds when they retreated into genre material. This is why their excuse-refrain is “you’re ruining my childhood,” or some nonsense about “social justice warrior” agendas.

It doesn’t matter what the rationale is because what this cohort cares about is creating a story where they are still the heroes, this time in a race to the bottom to be the most victimized. In their minds, their outsiderness over being a nerd growing up is the origin point of their hero’s journey. So, it must be protected from all costs. And if they’re the heroes in the scenario, the rest of us and people who are cast in films of their beloved intellectual properties must be the villains.

• Finally, we gotta talk Enfys Nest (played by the amazing Erin Kellyman). How badass was that reveal and walking away from Solo what kinds of stories are you hoping to see from the franchise in the future?

The Doctor: That reveal was unexpected and amazing!  The fact that not only was she a woman, but a young woman taking up her mother’s mantle and helping with the Rebellion was so enjoyable.  I feel like folks forget that Han was a smuggler-which means he was probably playing both sides (working for good and bad). The reveal of who by extension he was actually working for was amazing.  I like the idea of the standalone movies filling in the gaps that the original series failed to do, and that can’t always be neatly addressed by the cartoon properties. It also allows the main series not to be bogged down with extra unnecessary material that creates a bloated film.

Shanna: I legit gasped in the theater. Afterwards, I thought, now they’re just trolling because she’s Black and a redhead. Whenever a character is racebent, the whites always complain about them making redheads Black (see: Mary Jane Watson, Jimmy Olsen) as if Black redheads don’t exist. So it was the double whammy of her being a Black woman leading this rebel army after picking up the mantle from her mother. I wanted to give everyone a high five. I’d love to see Enfys Nest get her own film and/or storyline in the cartoons. And Kellyman is currently starring in BBC’s Les Miserables as Eponine so I want all the opportunities for this young actress.

TMM: Such a badass reveal! It definitely made me excited for what’s to come.  I can’t imagine the younger audience of women who saw Enfys reveal herself most likely assuming the character was a man. That reveal gave me life!

I do hope in the future we see more characters that are unknown to the mainstream and exist outside of the movies introduced. I’m always here for a plotline serves to highlight the effects of the war on those not close to power, and definitely a bit more mysticism à la The Nightsisters.

M.W.: I don’t like to speculate.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this discussion. 

The Doctor is an O.G. Star Wars Fan and regular contributor to The MTR Network. From every movie, to every cartoon property, to the original extended universe material, she has 40 years in the Star Wars game.  She appreciates the world that Lucas gave us, and loves the world Kennedy is continuing to build and expand on for us. Unlike some, she can enjoy the old and the new without being angry about either. Twitter: @TheDrIsIn2015

Wakandan Sith Witch is just a southern fried nerd girl with Sith tendencies. Cohost of The Unmasked Podcast. OG #swrepmatters representative  Twitter: @southerncynic

Moji is an avid reader of fantasy. She hosts an entertainment podcast, TV Movie Mistress, and I am always on the hunt for a new world to get lost in. Twitter: @Bookdreamer01

Maythinee Washington is an actor and writer based in Atlanta. Twitter: @Maythinee

Shanna is a writer/contributor to The MTR Network and hosts Super Tuesday recaps as well as covering conventions and bullying whoever is local to hang out with her. You can find her on Twitter @shittybonmots but be warned, the block is strong with this one.

The post Talking Fandom: The Women of Star Wars and Toxic Masculinity appeared first on MTR Network.

The integration of music into the first season of Luke Cage helped distinguish the show from other Marvel Netflix shows. Using Gangstarr song titles as episode names, show-runner Cheo Hodari Coker set the tone of the show before the first episodes even dropped. This wasn't going to be like so many other shows set in New York: White-washed, watered down and absent of the soul of the city (i.e. The Culture). The sophmore season of Luke Cage is no different. This time using Pete Rock and CL Smooth songs as titles, season two expands the musical journey with distinct Caribbean influences and expanding the importance of music in the storytelling.

Music is ingrained the DNA of Black Americans. From our worse hardships to our greatest moments of joy, music has always been our way to communicate and express ourselves. If a black person described their entire life using only music and artists that resonated with them at those times, you could turn that into a full dissertation on their lives. Music is part of who we are. With New York being one of the regions in which so much of the musical identity of Black Americans is defined, it’s almost a no-brainer that music would play such a heavy role in the next chapter of the hero of Harlem.

But it’s not just playing a Wu-Tang song in the background as a bulletproof black man cleans up the streets in his Harlem neighborhood. Since the first season, having artists perform their music, as themselves, on the Harlem’s Paradise stage, adds a sense of realism to the show. It’s one thing to play the music of musicians like Rapheal Saadiq, Rakim, Faith Evans or Ghostface Killah. It’s a whole other ball game to actually have them performing in show as part of the story. Making these artists part of the story makes the story real for us as the audience. It makes Luke Cage no longer just a comic book TV show about a bullet proof black man but rather transports us back that first time we heard artists like Rakim or KRS-One spit and associated those memories with the show. It makes Luke Cage feel more real, accessible and relatable than Daredevil, Jessica Jones or Iron Fist.

Marvel's Luke Cage

Season two ups the ante and makes the music an even more important part of the story. This season’s music brings in a strong Caribbean influence. Coker’s background as a former Hip Hop journalist played in important role in helping to define the show’s themes through music.

“What I landed on was that if season one was about hip-hop, season two was about the birth of hip-hop, which in New York came from reggae, as well as the blues. It gave us an organic base and from there, when I started looking at characters that could be Luke Cage rivals, I came across Bushmaster. In his Marvel bio, it said that he came from a small Caribbean island. I thought, let’s not be vague, let’s make it Jamaica, because Jamaican culture is so specific.”

Bushmaster’s Jamaican roots are not a gimmick but rather are an important part of the story being told. By giving Bushmaster a specific Jamaican background and deliberately including reggae alongside blues, neo-soul and hip-hop, this season proves that black people not a monolith nor is our music. Whereas in the first season the musical acts felt like cameos, season two makes the acts, or more specifically, their music, characters of their own. There are scenes where the dialogue is express entirely through music whether through lyrics or the piano or guitar. Season two makes the music a living, breathing character in itself that brings the audience more into the story.

And there’s something for everyone. From hip-hop royalty like KRS-One and Rakim to the soulful jazz of Esperanza Spalding, the music this season is diverse and yet it all fits together perfectly. There are also new artists that Coker specially reached out to like Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.

“He is someone I found online and I fell in love with his YouTube performances. I remember thinking that this kid is the future and I have to get him on the show. I was so happy that we recorded him.”

Coker along with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad truly captured the soul of blackness with music this season, even more so than the first. And Luke Cage is better for it.

Luke Cage Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix. The Season 2 original soundtrack is also currently available.

The post Luke Cage Season 2: Using Music to Capture the Soul of Blackness appeared first on MTR Network.

Hey everyone. I'm back with a double review because WicDiv 36 dropped right before I left town but I'm glad to be able to review these back to back because it allowed me to go back into my WicDiv archives and pull out some gems. There are two more issues in this arc and all of these threads are coming together to form quite the tapestry.

The Recurrence

Kieron Gillen talks about this in his notes but man, this must have been a bitch to draw. After issue 34 showed us the genesis of the recurrence, we see Ananke and Persephone meet again for the first time. Ananke says, she's missed her ... and then she murders her. This is followed by a masterful sequence in which Jamie McKelvie illustrates each meeting between Ananke and Persephone from 3862 BC until 2014. Sometimes they fight, sometimes they embrace in weary sadness. Sometimes Persephone is a man, often times a woman. Occasionally, Ananke is young (Minerva?), but mostly she is old and stooped or maimed. Sometimes Persephone is killed before the other gods even know they've been reborn. Most often, Ananke kills Persephone while their back is turned. They meet throughout the centuries and the continents with each rendering of the time period and region meticulously researched by Dani V. As we know, our Persephone managed to survive Ananke's murder attempt and the last panel is Minerva being comforted (lulled?) by Ananke saying "It will always be okay." Minerva and Ananke have been trading places for some time now. Does the ritual make Ananke the younger goddess so she can survive to the new recurrence?

In the opening of issue #37, it would seem so. Now it's 3127 BC and a young Minananke seems to be trying to circumvent the cycle by using her own head in the ritual. She turns to flame and then (after another brilliant visual of 90 black panels representing the 90 years between cycles) Minerva is reborn on Crete in 3037 BC, scratching scars under her eyes as she exclaims "Never again." This explains why the panel of Ananke killing 3036 BC, shows a young Minanake killing Persephone. Is 3127 BC the first time Ananke gets tired of living and tries to break the cycle? If so, it doesn't seem like it took long for her to regret her decision and like her sister told her "Forever makes liars of us all."

What Is Done in the Dark, Must Come to the Light

The present-day stories of both issues center around truths coming out and Laura's inner monologue is working overtime. After finding out that Baal has been sacrificing children every four months to keep the Great Darkness at bay, Laura has to admit that she's pregnant to keep Baal from killing her to keep his secret. Unfortunately, the baby may be either Baal's or Baph's. Unsure of what to do and with Cass and the Norns being arrested, Laura returns to the underground to update Baph on everything (except her pregnancy). This infuriates Badb, who knocks out Persephone and forces Baphomet's hand.

Again, the art here is amazing interspersingMatt Wilson's rich colors during the fight between Baph and Badb between desaturated scenes of Marian and Cameron meeting before they were gods. The innocence of these two young, hopeful teens meeting in a bar juxtaposed with an epic, blindingly beautiful fight between two gods, is masterfully rendered. The scene ends with Badb, now an enraged, crow-headed goddess, plucking out Baphomet's eyes and killing him. But her guilt overcomes her and The Morrigan takes over, giving her life to resurrect Baphomet.

Meanwhile, Minananke is still trying to stay one step ahead (pun intended). She's returns to her lair where Lucifer, Tara and Inanna are each mocking, curious and desperate to know what's happening in the outside world. Minananke does admit that she thinks Woden will find them soon but she also pulls out an ominous looking needle and thread so who knows what she'll do to keep the heads quiet about her plans. I'm really interested to see how Baal reacts when he finds out his sweet Minerva has been hiding the head of his lover.

Shots in the Dark: 

Ananke killing Inanna in 1831

• In the set up of the recurrence, Ananke claims maiden and crone while her sister claimsmother. We've always seen Ananke as either an old woman or the young Minerva. And now Persephone is pregnant (the mother), as was Inanna in 1831. And Ananke told Inanna that no one escapes, even her unborn child. 
• With the maiden, mother, crone recurring theme, I thought it was interesting that two of the times Ananke embraces Persephone they meet in Judea/Jerusalem and Persephone has a very Mary, Mother of God look to her. The first time is in 4 BC right before the birth of Christianity and the second is in 1187 AD. 
• The first time we get the "I've missed you" is in 3403 BC and Persephone is in male form and looks a lot like the young man from the original occurrence who would have been Ananke's nephew. 
• If the recurrence has gone on for so long and Minananke has tried to change it and Ananke and Persephone have occasionally fought to a draw or standstill and not ended this loop, what will it take? Maybe working together? Maybe not completing the ritual?

The post Wicked + Divine #36-37: Never Again … And Again appeared first on MTR Network.

When Hulu goes dark, Hulu goes really dark.  But also, when Hulu goes really dark, the result is a piece of production that probably deserves all the nominations while at the same time making you question your moral barometer for binging something so evil for entertainment.  We've all seen or have been berated for not seeing but promising we will soon Handmaiden's Tale, so if that's any testament to the quality of series we must hold Hulu hostage too now expect Castle Rock to be nauseatingly amazing.  That's why MTRNetwork crossed its fingers for press room access at Comic-Con this year; new shows have the best roundtable questions.  Sadly, only part of prayers were answered and while we couldn't get a seat at the table, we did have a spot on the carpet for photos.

The cast of Castle Rock is pretty stellar: Andre Holland (Selma, Moonlight), Melanie Lynskey (Two and A Half Men, Togetherness), Bill Skarsgard (Another One of the Other Skarsgards, IT), Jane Levy (Don't Breathe, Suburgatory), Sissy Spacek (If you don't know who Sissy Spacek is Kill yo self).  Andre Holland and Sissy Spacek weren't able to make the press event, but Bill Skarsgard, Jane Levy, Melanie Lynskey, and the creators were in attendance.  The story is anyone's guess since it's derived from the writings of Stephen King and not particularly one book or property, but we do know that King's Castle Rock town is part of his fictional Maine topography which includes such memorable places as Derry, the home of IT.  This has to be a writer's dream.  Roles are as follows:

Melanie Lynskey plays Molly Strand, a real-estate business owner who's a combination of the Jersey Medium and Mantis from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2.

Melanie Lynskey, Hulu's Castle Rock at San Diego Comic-Con

Jane Levy plays Jackie Torrance, a historian (neeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd!!!)

Jane Levy, Hulu's Castle Rock at San Diego Comic-Con

Bill Skarsgard plays "The Kid", an inmate at Shawshank, YES THAT SHAWSHANK! And he's been in a cage for years.  YEAARRSSS!!

Bill Skarsgard, Hulu's Castle Rock at San Diego Comic-Con

I don't know about the rest of yall, but I'm sold.  The first 3 episodes are currently available on Hulu now so we should have some reviews coming soon.  Till then, check out these other photos.

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The post BTS of Hulu’s Castle Rock with “The Kid”, “The Historian”, and “The Psychic Mantis” at San Diego Comic-Con appeared first on MTR Network.

I'm about to lie to you.

No, my first memory of TFTM comes sometime around 1990, soon after our family had moved from St.Louis to Atlanta; I was digging through VHS tapes looking for my prized possession: a VHS of TFTM that had been taped off of local television. Imagine my dismay when Leonard Nimoy's Galvatron bellowed, "Mangus! I want the matrix!" and the next shot was not of Ultra Magnus refusing, but of a fairway approach of a golfer I didn't know then and don't know now. My beloved TFTM was replaced by GOLF; and not 1998 Tiger golf, regular CBS Sunday golf. From that point on, this movie transformed from prized possession to holy grail.

The post You’ve Got The Touch! – The Transformers: The Movie Coming Back to Theaters 9/27 appeared first on MTR Network.

What were the movie winners of 2017? As the year is coming to a close, it’s a time to look back and reflect on the year. When it comes to films, there are some big winners and some equally big losers. 2017 has been kind of a roller coaster year for films. Franchises that seemed like guaranteed money makers flopped while others over performed.

So here’s my list of movie winners for 2017. These are the films that performed not only well at the box office but connected with audiences in lasting ways.

Get Out

Black people go to the movies. Who knew? I was eagerly awaiting Jordan Peele’s film the first time I heard about it. I was expecting it to be a horror comedy but instead Peele gave us a very serious racial horror film unlike anything we’ve seen before. Beyond just sparking conversations, the film also had a great box office return. Making over $250 million on a $4.5 million budget should send enough signals to Hollywood that yes, films made by and starring black people can in fact bring in huge returns.

Girls Trip

Keeping with the trend of black people going to the movies…black women DEFINITELY go to the movies. Hidden Figures should have been proof of that. Besides giving Tiffany Haddish some much deserved recognition, Girls Trip also showed that marketing to black women can lead to big wins. And it looks like Hollywood might finally be getting the message (albeit a little late). January’s Proud Mary is getting a nice little marketing push right now. I don’t think there’s been a single piece of Black Panther promotion that hasn’t featured one of its many black women. And Disney has been making sure to put director Ava DuVernay and the black women (and other women of color) starring in March’s A Wrinkle in Time out front and center. Times are changing and the success of a film like Girls Trip can take some of the credit.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

While it might not look like it at first glance, 2017 might go down as Marvel Studios’ best year. First off, the fact that “Will it hit a billion?” is a legit question for any film they put out shows that Marvel Studios has been winning for a long time now. And while none of the films they released or produced this year hit a billion, 2017 felt like they were showing off. First off, three years ago before Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 released, there were questions of whether it would be Marvel’s first flop. Three years later the sequel made over $860 million.

Then in a deal with Sony, Marvel produced Spider-Man: Homecoming and while it’s still technically a Sony film, Marvel Studios made sure to let us all know who was running the show. At $880 million, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the highest grossing comic book movie of 2017 and the second highest grossing Spider-Man movie of all time. It comes in second only to Spider-Man 3 which had a budget that was $80 million higher. I guess the third time’s the charm for rebooting Spider-Man.

While we’re on the topic of “third time’s the charm”, Thor: Ragnarok ended Marvel Studios year giving them a clean sweep of not only financially successful films but critically acclaimed ones. Taika Waititi took the weakest of Marvel’s solo films and gave it a shot in the arm that has led it to a thunderous $840 million (and still technically growing) box office.

So yes, none of these films hit that magically billion dollar number but that’s three films in one year that all topped $800 million. That has to give Marvel Studios confidence as they move forward with their plans to continue to put out three MCU films a year. Considering the first two for them next year are Black Panther and Infinity War, I think the confidence is warranted.

Beauty and the Beast

With all the focus on Marvel films and Stars Wars pushing Disney to its second year in a row of hitting $6 billion at the box office, it’s easy to forget Disney has their own properties that do pretty well. Right now, Beauty and the Beast is the #1 film of the year. Not only did it gross $1.2 billion but it made over $500 million domestically. Now sure, The Last Jedi is probably going to eat that up but the numbers are still pretty impressive. It's also a nice push back against the idea that the problems with the box office is that Hollywood doesn't make enough original movies. It seems like non-original films are the ones making the most money and bringing in the most audiences.

Despicable Me 3

Another sneaky member of the Billion Dollar Box Office Club. Honestly, the Despicable Me franchise is a massive winner. The Minions spin-off film made over a billion and Despicable Me 2 fell just short.  I don’t think this franchise gets enough credit for hitting the perfect blend of being pure joy and entertainment for child while also being relatable and enjoyable to adults. The bad guy in the third film is a disgruntled former 80’s child star who at the beginning of the film commits a heist to the sounds of Michael Jackson’s Bad. Once the film opened that way I knew it was going to be making all of the coins.

It

My general rule of thumb is that trying to remake a film from 20 years ago is probably not wise. The odds of success are low and IMDB is littered with the corpses of failed attempts. Thankfully, It wasn’t one of them. The success of It can be attributed to two things. First, following in the foot steps of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the kids cast were perfect. Heck, they even grabbed one of the kids (Finn Wolfhard)from Stranger Things. Second, the film doesn’t try to remake the TV movie. Instead it follows more in line with the book while making a few changes here and there. Both of these really helped turn It into a massive win. Actually, let me add a third thing: Bill Skarsgard. Skarsgard had big shoes to fill (literally) as Pennywise . He managed to make the role his own much like Ledger did with Joker.

Wonder Woman

When I do my losers list, no doubt Justice League is going to be on it. But the failure of Justice League shouldn’t take away from the success of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is not only the best DCEU film to date but it’s one of the best reviewed movies this year. Yes, it has a weak CG villain and the end of the film is a bit of a mess. But the film nails the character of Diana and honestly, that’s what matters the most. Also, as a the first major female comic book character to helm her own solo film, it’s a long overdue win. It should be noted that out of all the comic book movies this year, only Justice League was critically panned and not embraced by audiences. So much for "Superhero Movie Fatigue".

Fate of the Furious

Personally, I don’t think the last two Fast & Furious films have come close to being as good as Fast & Furious 6. That said, The Fate of the Furious brought in $1.2 billion dollars, was directed by a black man (F Gary Gray) and one of the most diverse film casts to make a billion dollars. This is a win. Matter of fact, the last two films in the franchise have done a billion dollars EACH overseas. Keep that in mind if anyone tries to say that films with diverse casts or women can’t sell overseas.

Kong Skull Island

In a year that saw Universal’s ill-advised Dark Universe crash & burn with The Mummy and Warner Brothers getting drastically mixed results with the DCEU, Warner Brothers & Legendary Pictures Monsterverse is alive and well. Look man, I enjoyed Kong: Skull Island more than I did the 2014 Godzilla film. We got plenty of monsters fighting monsters and the camera STAYED on the action. The film was fun, enjoyable and gave us Sam Jackson acting like Captain Ahab. What’s not to love? And it grossed more than the 2014 Godzilla film so…bring on Godzilla vs King Kong. I’m here for it.

Split

I wasn’t as engrossed with Split as everyone else but it would be Fake News if I didn’t say that Split was a much needed win for M. Night Shyamalan. With a budget of $9 million and grossing over $270 million, my feelings aside, that’s a massive win. And let me not make it seem like this movie was garbage, it wasn’t. I wish it came out later in the year and got a bigger Oscar push for McAvoy. The performance he puts in for this film is worth the price of admission alone and I wish he was getting more recognition.

The Last Jedi

I mean…what needs to be said? It hasn’t even been out for three weeks yet and it’s already closing in on being the highest grossing film of 2017. Despite all the article about how “divisive” the film is, the boxoffice numbers are telling a different story. If it really was that divisive, we would have seen a huge drop off over the weeks. Instead it’s still performing strong. As the third film from LucasFilms since the Disney acquisition to hit a billion, The Last Jedi has solidified the new Star Wars universe. With the rumblings that the Han Solo film might not turn out that great, the truly ridiculous numbers from the last three films means that it doesn’t matter. LucasFilms is sure to hit a speed bump here or there but that’s all they are, bumps in the road.

There you have it. My list of the winners of 2017. I know I missed some so leave a comment with your winners of 2017. My list of the losers of 2017 will be coming soon.

The post The Movie Winners of 2017 appeared first on MTR Network.

It's that time again! Our 2018 Movie Preview is here. Kriss is joined by Phenom, Tim and Joi to discuss the list of movies coming out in 2018. We discuss the movies we're all waiting for like Black Panther, A Wrinkle in Time, Infinity Wars and Incredibles 2. We also ask why some films were greenlit and if some films are even going to be released. It's a great episode you won't want to miss.

Topics:

• Is the promotion for Proud Mary enough?
• What are our predictions for Black Panther's opening weekend?
• Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Fifty Shades Freed and the end of terrible film franchises
• Are we getting a new Cloverfield movie?
• Will Tomb Raider finally be the turning point for video game movies?
• The super packed month of March (A Wrinkle in Time, Tomb Raider, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Ready Player One)
• Will Avengers: Infinity War open over $200 million?
• Is Solo: A Star Wars Story in trouble its second weekend with Deadpool 2 opening?
• Will Disney hit $7-8 billion in 2018 with all its movies?
• Bumblebee vs Aquaman: Should Aquaman be moved up
• And more

The post 2018 Movie Preview – The Most (and Least) Anticipated Films of the New Year appeared first on MTR Network.

So we've already covered the winners of 2017 and now it's time to cover the losers. So what made a film a loser? Well, the first obvious way is a poorly performing box office. But not every disappointment means the film flopped at the box office. Some films did well financially but also let down audiences and could spell trouble for continuing their franchises. So what movies were the losers of 2017 that were disappointments? Let's find out.

Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

At first glance, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales seems like an odd choice for a losers list. I mean the film made almost $800 million. But looking beyond the surface tells a different story. First, this is a billion dollar franchise. One, the two previous pirates films crossed a billion world side. Disney has been chasing that high. The problem is, they haven’t been able to get a casting trio that works as well as Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley and a pre-outted domestic abuser Johnny Depp. When details of Depp’s abuse of Amber Heard came out before promotion for Dead Men Tell No Tales started, Disney was forced to try to promote this movie without their single best promotion tool. The Pirates of the Caribbean series survives solely off of Johnny Depp’s Captain jack Sparrow. And don’t get me wrong, Disney had no choice but to distance themselves as much as they could from Depp. It also might be time to realize this franchise has reached its end. It only goes downhill from here.

 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was 2017's Jupiter Ascending. A visually stunning flop. With a  production budget over $170 million and only bringing in $41 million domestically and $225 million world wide, Valerin should be yet another warning that pouring a  bunch of money into visuals while having weak leads and a weak story is just a recipe for disaster. And I’m a Dane DeHaan fan. I think he’s pretty good. But he’s not going to be someone you can sell a movie like this on. And Cara Delevingne….can’t act. I’m sorry but I’ve yet to see her pull off anything other than just existing on screen.

Justice League

Sometimes I hate being right. For over a year I’ve been saying that there was no way for Justice League to not be a mess and well, that was true. Look, I definitely think there were more fun and enjoyable moments in this film than in Batman v Superman. I actually think its a better film, even with the hacked together pieces of two drastically different directors. But what I wasn’t expecting was for this film to gross as low as it did. Right now it’s looking at finishing either just under or just above Man of Steel. That means the first live action Justice League film made less money than both Guardians of the Galaxy films (In 2014 no one knew who Groot or Rocket Raccoon were), Thor Ragnaork and DOCTOR STRANGE. A Justice League film is going to make less than Doctor Strange.  Excuse me as I go drown myself in bourbon. 

Sleight

I’m all for more diversity and inclusion in films and I’m always going to root for films with black leads. But that also means sometimes I’m going to be disappointed when the films don’t live up to my expectations. The promotion for Sleight did it no favors. The comparisons to Chronicle and Iron Man set unfair expectations on this film. But beyond that, the screenplay was just empty and the film didn’t get interesting until the final 5 minutes. It felt more like it would have been a good short film versus a 90 minute full length feature. All that said, I almost didn’t include it on this list since it only had a budget of 250k and made almost 4 million. But I have a hard time believing that it wasn’t a massive disappointment to anyone who saw it

War for the Planet of the Apes

Out of all the films on this list this is the one that hurts me. Not only is War for the Planet of the Apes the best movie on this list, its hands down one of the best films of 2017. Now let me be clear, this movie wasn’t a flop. But after Dawn of the Planet of the Apes made over $700 million in 2014, I find it hard to believe that Fox wasn’t expecting a similar if not better return for this film. Instead, not only did its world wide total come in over $200 less than the previous film but it has the lowest domestic box-office of the trilogy. I believe the problem here was poor planning on a release date. This film was up against Spider-Man Homecoming’s second weekend and while it won, that’s still stiff competition. Wonder Woman was also still in theaters and taking some audiences. In hindsight, War for the Planet of the Apes should have been released later in the year. Maybe August or even better, mid-October. Either way, this film deserved way more recognition.

 

 

Blade Runner 2049

The first word that comes to mind when I think of Blade Runner 2049 flopping is ‘hubris’. It’s the only way to explain what was going through the mind of whoever greenlit this. The original Blade Runner film was 30 years ago and unlike properties like Star Trek or Star Wars, it did not maintain a constant presence in pop culture. And quite honestly, the fandom of Blade Runner is much smaller than people want to admit. Like War for the Planet of the Apes, I think that this is actually a really great film. But there were also a lot of factors that lead to it being a dud. Obviously they overestimated interest in a follow up to Blade Runner three decades later. But making the film damn near 3 hours was also a death sentence. The majority of audiences aren’t going to sit in a theater for 3 hours for this kind of film. Had they cut it to under 2 1/2 hours then there would have been a different tune.

The Dark Tower

Having Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in a movie together based off a Stephen King novel and still flopping has to be the film equivalent of blowing a 3-1 lead in the finals or a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. The initial excitement for this movie wore off when we all realized they were showing the same trailer over and over again. Then word of the script troubles and short run-time hit and well we all decided it was better to just pretend this movie never happened.

Ghost in the Shell

The minute Scarlet Johansson was cast this movie was doomed. Whitewashing is such an interesting phenomenon now because it rarely works out. If Hollywood execs are so worried about their bottom-lines, then white washing makes no sense. With Ghost in the Shell they really tried several different tactics. First it was that they needed to cast Johansson because she was a big name actress and it would sell the movie. Well, that didn’t work out. Then they told us that the role wasn’t actually whitewashed. And to be fair, maybe in the most literal definition of the term, they were right. They reimagined the Major to be a white woman. It was just that the consciousness of the Asian character was put into a white body. What could possibly go wrong?

King Arthur Legend of the Sword

Warner Brothers spent $175 million on a King Arthur themed, Guy Ritchie directed music video (And it couldn't even make its budget back). That's basically what King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was. A bad metal music video. Everything about this project was a bad idea. First, while I like Guy Ritchie’s work, his style is not one that I would think would work for King Arthur. Second, Charlie Hunham has the charisma of a wet blanket. Add in a weak script, effects that looked both too expensive and too cheap at the same time and the only significant female character in the movie being called The Mage and well…this was doomed from the start. Ritchie is doing Aladdin next and well, I don't have much hope for that either. Someone lock him in a room and force him to finish Sherlock Holmes 3 which is what he should be working on. 

Transformers The Last Knight

It took five films but it seems like audiences have finally figured out that Michael Bay’s Transformer movies are pretty bad. Despite some hot takes that claim this is proof that audiences are “Tired of cinematic universes”, its really just proof audiences are tired of bad movies. It also didn’t help that the promotion for the movie just felt deflated. Optimus Prime was a bad guy, the world was suddenly dystopian and absolutely nothing made sense. For the first time in the franchise, the trailers weren't even good enough to get people's hopes up. The result? The lowest opening weekend of any of Bay's Transformers movies (only $45 million), lowest domestic gross ($130 million) and lowest world wide gross (an abysmal $605 million). 

Alien: Convenant 

Oh Ridley Scott...It seems like Ridley Scott is determined to run the Alien franchise in the ground. For some reason he thinks people go to the Alien movies for the A.I. storyline and not the xenomorphs. When it comes to the Alien franchise Ridley Scott is one of those dudes that hears his date say she doesn't like something but he orders it for her anyway while saying "no no, you just haven't had it made right." Scott thinks the thing audiences are interested in is the origins of the androids from Alien and not the creature that goes from face-hugging rape crab to chest bursting murder machine. When Scott's Prometheus 2 got canceled we should have all known he was going to force it into Alien: Convenant which is exactly what he did. The trailers and promotions of this film lied like a Tinder date who lists himself at 6'2 when he's really 5'4. And while the movie made its money back, it's very clear that fans weren't exactly happy. Fox has canceled the rest of the series leaving Scott to wonder why his Alien franchise isn't as big as Star Wars. Look in the mirror Scott. Look in the mirror.

*EDIT*

The Mummy

So there you have it. My list of losers for 2017. What movies disappointed you in 2017? Leave a comment and let me know.

The post The Losers: The Movies That Disappointed in 2017 appeared first on MTR Network.

For the second year in a row Disney brought in a staggering amount at the global box-office. Not only have they crossed $6 billion two years in a row but in 2017, they hit over $7 billion. While an amazing feat, what’s even more amazing is that 2018 could see them not only three-peat but go even higher. The list of movies coming out under the Disney brand in 2018 is pretty staggering. So let’s go through each film and try to predict what Disney’s end-of-year box office could be.

Black Panther

Marvel Studios has the brand recognition that is rivaled only by LucasFilms at this point. In my list of 2017 winners, I pointed out that while no film in the MCU topped $1 billion last year, every film came in over $800 million. So when it comes to Black Panther there’s a lot of people that immediately jump to “It’s going to make a billion”. And I get the sentiment but I also don’t think a lot of people realize just how difficult hitting the Billion Dollar Box-Office Club is.

First, only 2 solo films in the MCU have hit a Billion Dollars. One was Iron Man 3 which was coming fresh off the heels of Avengers and so that got it a huge push. The second was Captain America: Civil War which was the 3^rd Captain America film and more importantly, was basically a mini-Avengers movie itself. When it comes to the first film for a solo character, Doctor Strange holds the top honor with $677 million.

Now all that said, there’s a lot of things that work in Black Panther’s favor for a huge box office. First, Black Panther is probably the most anticipated solo film Marvel Studios has ever done. It’s actually hard to compare this film to anything anticipation wise that Marvel has done because of the cultural significance. I think the best comparison is to head over to Marvel’s competitor DC and look at what Wonder Woman accomplished. Wonder Woman topped out at $821 million last year. That’s with DC sleeping at the wheel when it came to promotion, something Marvel isn’t doing. Already we’ve seen promotions and interviews targeting black women, international promotion and merchandise. This is the first black super hero getting his first solo movie and Marvel isn’t pulling any punches. The trailers have all trended instantly and add to the fact that this movie should tie directly into Infinity War and that billion dollar number seems pretty reachable. The hype and anticipation for this movie can’t be understated. Representation matters and Disney & Marvel are banking on that for a huge return.

Prediction: $850 Million - $1 Billion. I really wanted to go conservative here but this is one of the few times when people say “It's gonna do a billion?” and it could actually be true. At the very least I see this being the top grossing of all of initial solo films for any character. The only way it could fall short is overseas but so far it doesn’t look like it. Months before Marvel goes hard with promotion early tracking already has the film opening at $95 million and that’s just going to keep growing. I see this opening domestically at $120-$140 and the weeks after its release are wide open for it having a long run at #1.

A Wrinkle in Time

I came across an article from 2014 that predicted that A Wrinkle In Time would fail. Four years later, I’m pretty sure the author of that piece would like a do-over. To be fair, in 2014, Ava DuVernay wasn’t on a lot of people’s radar and she definitely hadn’t been tapped to direct this movie. Since Selma, DuVernay has not only been outspoken about diversity and inclusion in Hollywood but she’s “lived her raps” with Queen Sugar, 13th and #BlackGirlMagic moments like directing an Apple Music commercial and more recently, Jay-Z & Beyonce music video. And Disney has definitely noticed. They wanted her for Black Panther and when that didn’t work out, they offered A Wrinkle In Time. And you can’t tell me that Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson aren’t chopping at the bit to offer her a Star Wars movie at some point.

With Black Panther and A Wrinkle in Time, Disney is doing something that most studios don’t do: They listened. After watching films like Hidden Figures and Girls Trip “over perform”, Disney asked “Maybe they’re not over performing, maybe we just need to make films that target black women”. So Storm Reid gets to be the lead in A Wrinkle in Time and give older black women and young black girls someone that looks like them on screen. And I think it’s a bet that’s going to pay off extremely well for Disney at the beginning of 2018. And at only $103 million for a budget, DuVernay definitely seems to be getting them their money’s worth because the trailers have looked amazing.

Prediction: $750 - $850 Million. The only thing really holding A Wrinkle In Time back is that it’s in a super packed March that will cut into its long term returns. But it wouldn’t surprise me if DuVernay ends up passing Jenkins’ record of highest grossing film for a female director.

Avengers: Infinity War

The question isn’t “Is Infinity War going to hit a billion?”, it’s is it going to hit $2 billion? Better yet, will it reach the elusive $200 million opening weekend? Most films that enter the Billion Dollar Club do so because they’re event movies. Meaning they’re so culturally big, just going to see it turns into an event. We’ve seen the Avengers before but this movie is about bringing the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe together in one movie. This is the event to end all events. It’s supposed to turn everything on its head so much that Feige won’t even tell us what the name of Avengers 4 is because he says it will spoil Infinity War. Throw in Thanos who seems to arrive announcing that he’s here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and he’s all out of bubblegum, we might see Marvel break their own worldwide gross record.

Prediction: $1.8 - $2 Billion. Easy.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

LucasFilms has been riding a high of three straight films of $1+ billion dollars at the box-office. In just 3 weeks, The Last Jedi became the highest grossing film of 2017. That’s with a silly troll campaign that tried to make it seem like fans weren’t happy with it. So it would seem crazy to think that their 4^th film would lead to this streak being broken but that might be exactly what’s going to happen. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of confidence behind Solo: A Star Wars Story. Ron Howard having to come in last minute to finish the film and do reshoots plus Alden Ehrenreich not exactly giving folks the confidence of being Han Solo leaves a lot of questions. There’s been very little promotion, zero teasers and just doesn’t seem to be following the typical winning formula for LucasFilms.

Also sticking it in the Memorial Day slot also doesn’t scream winner either. That said, much like Dead Men Tell No Tales, even if it got bad reviews and a low domestic box office, it could see an overall gross saved by the overseas market. The problem is, its second weekend runs into Deadpool 2. Hot Take Alert: Solo is going to lose to the Merc with a Mouth.

Prediction: $750 million. I’m basing this off the idea that there are actual troubles with this film. Funny story though is…Rogue One was also said to have troubles and still got great reviews. It also hit a billion. So, if Solo turns out to be good…all bets are off.

The Incredibles 2

While Black Panther and Infinity War might top the “Most Anticipated” list, The Incredibles 2 is right up there. Grown ass adults have been begging for The Incredibles 2 for the last 14 years. And one thing we know about the box office is: If your movie can get adults AND children into seats, you’re going to do super well. Animated movies always get overlooked in the Billion Dollar Box-Office club. Despicable Me 3 brought in just over a billion last year and The Incredibles 2 should cross that mark easily.

Prediction: $1 - $1.2 Billion. 14 years ago the original did over $600 million. I don’t see how this sequel doesn’t come close to doubling that.

Ant-Man and The Wasp

I still can’t get over the fact that Marvel Studios did an Ant-Man movie…and was successful. Sure, Ant-Man barely grossed over $500 million worldwide but…that’s huge (no pun intended) for an Ant-Man movie. Plus it also had the smallest budget to date for any of their films. In a way, it was kinda like a heat check for Feige and Marvel Studios. Marvel’s made sure to put Scott Lang in Civil War (with some Giant Man upgrades) and is also putting Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp not only in costume for the sequel, but in the title. More exposure for Scott + Giving audiences what they want (Janet in costume) = This movie is going to do great.

 Prediction: $750 Million. No one expects this film to hit a billion but just about every Marvel sequel does significantly better at the box office the next time out. If Marvel is riding two huge successes in Black Panther and Infinity War, expect this movie to see a great boost.

Christopher Robin

I haven’t seen much about this film yet and I’m not even sure if it’s still coming out this year. All I know is that it has Hayley Atwell and Ewan McGregor in it. There are official photos for it and so maybe it does come out. But unlike everything else on this list, it’s just not getting a lot of buzz. This could end up being this year’s Pete’s Dragon where it could get good reviews but no one cared to go see it in theaters.

Prediction: $150 - $200 Million

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck It Ralph 2

I’m going to go super conservative with Wreck It Ralph. It’s coming later in the year, has stiff competition from not only other Disney properties but other studios as well. The first film did just under $500 million and I don’t think there’s a huge market for Wreck It Ralph 2. I think this film earns under what the original did. Hey, Disney can’t win them all.

Prediction: $400 Million

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

For these last two movies, it’s a toss-up. On the surface you might be wondering why Disney would make thes films.  I would then point to the fact that before The Last Jedi, the #1 movie of 2017 was Beauty and the Beast. These Disney remakes/reimagines make bank. The first Alice in Wonderland made over a billion. Maleficent made around $750 million.The Jungle Book did just under a billion. Beauty and the Beast? $1.2 billion. Disney sees the writing on the wall and it’s in solid gold. Sure, some times these things will flop like Alice Through the Looking Glass. But Disney’s record is still pretty solid so far. And with The Nutcracker, I think they’re pretty confident they have a hit.

They’ve already released a pretty gorgeous teaser trailer for it and the film is 11 months away. Also in keeping with their theme this year of “If you build it they will come”, the teaser is full of black people making me think that Disney knows exactly what they’re doing. Misty Copeland is only in this movie for the big dance number but Disney was smart enough to make sure she was visible in the trailer.

Prediction: $700 Million. This film comes out opposite of X-Men: Dark Phoenix and unless this X-Men film does something with its trailers no other X-Men film has done, I don’t see how it doesn’t get steam rolled by The Nutcracker.

Mary Poppins Returns

On our 2018 movie preview I initially laughed at this movie until I realized it was Disney. Then I realized it was going to do numbers. Just look at the cast: Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Oh and it comes out over Christmas. It’s only competition are the Bumblebee and Aquaman movies coming out the Friday before. I’m not sure either one really stands a chance.

Prediction: $700 Million. I went conservative with both this film and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. I don’t see either of these movies falling flat and think that at the very least they’ll do marginally well. But part of me believes that at least one of them will break out big. I just don’t know which one.

So, will Disney hit 7 or 8 billion at the box office this year? Using just the low end predictions puts Disney just short of $8 billion in 2018. I think it’s a safe bet that Disney could not only threepeat but break all kinds of records in 2018.

The post The Threepeat: Will Disney Hit $8 Billion At the Box-Office in 2018? appeared first on MTR Network.

I'm going to keep being petty about how the promotion for Black Panther is the exact opposite of the nearly non-existent promotion for Wonder Woman. Last year, the defense of Warner Brother’s dropping the ball was that they put out trailers and TV spots. It always skipped over that there wasn’t any real push for Wonder Woman merchandise and the only product promotion we saw for the longest time was weight loss bars. Compare that to what we’re seeing now for Black Panther. This commercial from Hasbro nearly brings tears to my eyes. They’re not just making Black Panther toys for kids but actually marketing them.

I’m going to give Warner Brothers the benefit of the doubt and say they just didn’t understand the cultural significance of the character of Wonder Woman. Most heroes in comic books and film today are straight white males. When marginalized groups finally get to see characters that represent themselves on the big screen, it matters a lot. Market your characters to these groups and the payoff is always huge. Years before Black Panther ever made an appearance in the MCU, there was serious skepticism among black nerds as to whether the character would get the same attention and respect as white male characters. Many worried it would have a lower budget, be white washed and wouldn't get proper marketing push. So far, Marvel seems to be quieting those fears. Spotlighting black women, foreign press promotion & interviews, a Lexus deal, new comic books and now toys. Honestly, Black Panther is getting the Iron Man or Spider-Man treatment and it feels great.

I have no doubt that Warner Brothers will learn this lesson come Wonder Woman 2. But I’m very pleased that Marvel isn’t following their footsteps and going with a full court blitz for Black Panther.

Marvel is about to have little white kids running around with Black Panther masks & gauntlets and I'm here for it.

The post Hasbro’s ‘Black Panther Vibranium Hero Gear’ Official TV Commercial appeared first on MTR Network.

First the Black Panther world premiere (with glowing reviews) and now Marvel Studios is keeping up the pressure with the first trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp. You can’t tell me anyone has a better PR machine when it comes to movies than Marvel Studios. And by putting the spotlight on Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp, Marvel is making sure to make this sequel much bigger (no pun intended) than the first film. Lilly’s Hope van Dyne was a standout in the first movie and many wondered why she didn’t have a larger role (or her own suit). Now, not only is she in the suit but she’s clearly has more upgrades than Scott which is made very clear in this trailer. 

Marvel is trying to ride not only the wave of positivity that is sure to come from Black Panther but also the desire to see more female characters getting a spotlight. With Captain Marvel still a year away, Marvel is still behind in having a solo female character film but Ant-Man and The Wasp gives them their first film with a film character as co-lead. With black female characters getting focus on Black Panther, Captain Marvel filming and the rumors of a Black Widow film in development, Marvel Studios is finally filling some of their weaknesses. And in the words of Hope van Dyne from the first Ant-Man film, it’s about damn time.

The post Ant-Man and The Wasp Trailer – Hope van Dyne Dons the Suit and Takes Center Stage appeared first on MTR Network.