Without Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, would the Marvel Cinematic Universe have become such a global phenomenon? As the charismatic actor played a big part (perhaps the biggest) in the success of Iron Man, it’s easy to imagine the film crashing the entire franchise before it even began had another actor starred in it. While Downey Jr. bid farewell to the Marvel franchise with Avengers: Endgame, could he ever be persuaded to return as Iron Man?

“Happily. It’s too integral a part of my DNA,” Robert Downey Jr. told Esquire. “That role chose me. And look, I always say, Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.“

As the MCU isn’t in tip-top shape at the moment, the idea of bringing Downey Jr. back must be appealing, but Kevin Feige has said that they wouldn’t undo Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. “We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” Feige said. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.” Of course, there would still be plenty of ways for Iron Man to return, either in a flashback or as a Multiverse variant.

After taking home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer, Downey Jr. is setting out on yet another stage of his career. While he doesn’t seem opposed to the idea of returning to the MCU, part of me feels like the franchise shouldn’t turn to Tony Stark to save it, but hey, I’m not the one in charge of a multi-billion-dollar franchise. There have been rumblings that Downey Jr. could return as a villainous Iron Man variant in Avengers: Secret Wars, and while you should take that with a huge grain of salt at the moment, that type of switch might be enticing for the actor.

Would you like to see Robert Downey Jr. return to the MCU as Iron Man?

The post Robert Downey Jr. would “happily” return as Iron Man appeared first on JoBlo.

Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have been locked in to reprise the roles of hero Matt Murdock / Daredevil and villain Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, characters they originally played on the Marvel-inspired Netflix series Daredevil, on the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again ever since Marvel and Disney+ started pushing the show forward. When their supporting cast was being assembled at the end of 2022, it was announced that Sandrine Holt (American Gigolo) had signed on to appear on the show as a love interest to the Fisk – with the word being that she was taking over the role of his wife Vanessa Marianna Fisk, who had previously been played by Ayelet Zurer on the Netflix show. Apparently there had been scheduling issues with Zurer, who said she was “sad to not take part” in the new series… which, at the time, wasn’t meant to line up with the Netflix show perfectly. Filming started in early 2023, then when the strikes hit, it was decided that it needed to undergo a creative overhaul. This overhaul has ensured that this new series is now directly connected to the Daredevil series that ran for three seasons on Netflix. As of the recent Daredevil-related series Echo, all of the Netflix shows (which also included Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and The Defenders) have been made canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe… and due to the delays caused by the strikes and creative overhaul, it looks like Ayelet Zurer was able to take part after all.

A Daredevil: Born Again set picture shared by New York Newswire’s Steve Sands on Instagram showed Zurer filming a scene with D’Onofrio.

So it appears that Zurer is back as Vanessa. There’s no word on whether or not Sandrine Holt will still be appearing on the show in a different role.

Dario Scardapane, who worked on Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and the Netflix series The Punisher, was brought in to serve as showrunner on Daredevil: Born Again during the creative overhaul. The behind-the-scenes shake-up also led to Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, the directing team who were at the helm of multiple episodes of Moon Knight and Loki season 2, being hired as directors on the show. Matt Corman and Chris Ord were previously the head writers on the show, but they were let go.

In addition to Cox, D’Onofrio, and Zurer (and possibly Holt), the cast of Daredevil: Born Again includes Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, Jon Bernthal, and Wilson Bethel, reprising the roles of Murdock’s associates Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, Frank Castle / The Punisher, and Benjamin “Dex” Pointdexter / Bullseye. Also in the cast are Margarita Levieva as Matt Murdock’s love interest Heather Glenn, Michael Gandolfini as a character named Daniel Blade, Genneya Walton as BB Urich, Jeremy Earl as Anti-Vigilante Task Force member Cole North, and Lou Taylor Pucci, taking on an unspecified role.

Are you looking forward to Daredevil: Born Again, and are you glad to hear that Ayelet Zurer is back as Vanessa after all? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Machete may not text but he do sequel. Director Robert Rodriguez has addressed claims by Machete himself, Danny Trejo, who said that he doubts Rodriguez even has the rights to make the threequel Machete Kills in Space.

First, some context. Trejo recently told Rob Zombie in Interview that he was under the impression that Rodriguez had sold the rights to Machete “to Russians or something,” thus halting the project permanently. (Trejo and Zombie have direct ties to 2007’s Grindhouse, with the former being featured in the faux trailer for, of course, Machete, while Zombie helmed Werewolf Women of the SS, which has tragically yet to be made into a feature.)

But Rodriguez quickly rebuked this, telling IndieWire that his old pal isn’t exactly up to date on his info. “I retain all the rights…We do plan to make another one, we just stopped saying that we are until we’re actually making it because of all the stories that come out saying, ‘They’re making it right now, they’re making it right now!’” With that, Rodriguez noted the connection he has to Machete, something no doubt shared by fans. “Machete is one of my favorite characters and Danny and I are always dreaming up the best sequel approach. So yes, the sequel is still very possible. We are just not making it right at this moment.”

Machete Kills in Space was teased perfectly in 2013’s Machete Kills (as Machete Kills Again in Space), which both paid homage to all of those movies that would dangle the next installment in front of audience members and legit gave fans a trilogy-sealer that would be looking forward to. And indeed we still are, with Trejo previously saying he still gets asked about the yet-to-be-greenlit project. Trejo even once expressed his dissatisfaction with Rodriguez dragging his feet on the movie, saying he would take over directing duties if he had to. No disrespect to Trejo wanting to get the project in gear but we would much rather have Rodriguez behind the lens…at least compared to another Spy Kids movie.

Now that Robert Rodriguez has confirmed that he still has the rights to the Machete character, do you hope a third movie gets made? Or has too much time passed for it to stick? Give us your thoughts below!

The post Robert Rodriguez disputes Danny Trejo’s claims he sold Machete rights appeared first on JoBlo.

Final Fantasy is a series that’s been known for its epic summons, god-like entities who’ll aid you in battle. Rebirth introduces a number of classics who you can acquire by defeating them in Chadley’s combat simulator. One of which is Odin, who is notoriously able to swiftly end fights with just one attack. Fittingly,…

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Final Fantasy is a series that’s been known for its epic summons, god-like entities who’ll aid you in battle. Rebirth introduces a number of classics who you can acquire by defeating them in Chadley’s combat simulator. One of which is Odin, who is notoriously able to swiftly end fights with just one attack. Fittingly,…

Read more…

Deadline reports that principal photography has kicked off on Levon’s Trade, an action thriller starring Jason Statham. The project has also added a few new members to the cast, with David Harbour (Stranger Things), Michael Peña (Narcos: Mexico), Jason Flemyng (Boiling Point) and Arianna Rivas (The Harvest) signing on to appear in Levon’s Trade.

David Ayer is directing Levon’s Trade from a screenplay by none other than Sylvester Stallone, with revisions by Ayer. The project is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Chuck Dixon. The book is the first installment of the Levon Cade series, which consists of eleven novels. With so much material, this could easily be another franchise starter for Statham.

“Levon Cade (Statham) left his ‘profession’ behind him to go straight and work in construction,” reads the official synopsis. “He wants to live a simple life and be a good father to his daughter. But when his boss’s teenage daughter Jenny vanishes, he’s called upon to re-employ the skills that made him a legendary figure in the shadowy world of black ops. His hunt for the missing college student takes him deep into the heart of a sinister criminal conspiracy creating a chain reaction that will threaten his new way of life.“

In addition to Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Peña, Jason Flemyng, and Arianna Rivas, the cast of Levon’s Trade also includes Noemi Gonzalez, Emmett Scanlan, Eve Mauro, Maximilian Osinski, Kristina Poli, Andrej Kaminsky, and Isla Gie. The project secured a distribution deal with Amazon MGM earlier this year. It will receive a wide theatrical release in the U.S., with a streaming release on Prime Video in major international territories.

Levon’s Trade marks a quick reunion for David Ayer and Jason Statham, as Ayer directed Statham in The Beekeeper. The old-school action flick was released earlier this year and received a surprisingly positive response. Statham and Ayer clearly work well together, so hopes are high that Levon’s Trade will be another success.

The post Levon’s Trade: David Harbour, Michael Peña & more join Jason Statham in David Ayer’s new action thriller appeared first on JoBlo.

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If Hatsune Miku were an actual person and not an insanely popular virtual popstar vocaloid (a software that synthesizes singing from lyric and melody inputs) she’d currently be in hot water with fans after her latest concert series. Miku Expo is an annual international tour where vocaloid developer Crypton Future…

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If Hatsune Miku were an actual person and not an insanely popular virtual popstar vocaloid (a software that synthesizes sining from lyric and melody inputs) she’d currently be in hot water with fans after her latest concert series. Miku Expo is an annual international tour where vocaloid developer Crypton Future Media…

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