Denzel Washington is joining the MCU. The veteran Hollywood star said Black Panther 3 is one of his upcoming projects, with director Ryan Coogler currently writing his role for the sequel to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. “At this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best,” he said in a recent…
Denzel Washington is joining the MCU. The veteran Hollywood star said Black Panther 3 is one of his upcoming projects, with director Ryan Coogler currently writing his role for the sequel to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. “At this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best,” he said in a recent…
Denzel Washington is jumping into more franchises these days. He would complete his trilogy of Equalizer films, which would feature the first sequels of his career and he will be starring in the upcoming Gladiator II, which is being hyped up as a grand-scale action epic. In his review of the film, our Chris Bumbray said, “Washington, playing a rare villain, seems like he’s having the time of his life as the constantly scheming former slave. Yet, Washington never makes him a cartoon character, with him kind of the other side of the coin compared to Richard Harris’s Marcus Areulius in the first film, with the two sharing a vision for a new Rome, even if the latter’s is more apocalyptic.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Washington casually dropped that he is also planning to join the MCU for Black Panther 3. While doing press for Gladiator II, Washington told the Today Show in Australia that “at this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best, I don’t know how many more films I will make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven’t done.” He, then, continued to mention the projects he has on his waiting list, including returning to the theatre for Othello,
I played Othello at 22, I’m now going to play it at 70. After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther.”
Marvel has not yet confirmed when they will move forward with the third film in the Black Panther series, and according to Denzel, that movie comes after three other projects. MCU head Kevin Feige hadn’t revealed anything about that film, but recently teased that Blade is still being worked on at Marvel Studios as he explained, “We love the character, we love Mahershala’s version of him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still trying to figure out how it fits into our schedule, we let the public know. You’re up to date on what’s going on. But I can tell you that the character will be coming to the MCU.”
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Plot: Moon is a curious young owl who unexpectedly finds himself stuck in a Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Plaza. In his attempts to escape the bustling city, Moon befriends a lost little girl named Luna. Together, they embark on a heartwarming adventure, discovering the magic of the holiday season and forming an unlikely bond as they journey back home to their parents.
Review: Alfonso Cuaron is as adventurous a director as a producer. While his name has been big this year thanks to the masterpiece that is the Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, Cuaron has lent his backing to the third short film in a trilogy for Disney+. Following 2022’s Le Pupille and last year’s The Shepherd, Cuaron enlists director David Lowery to wrap the Christmas-themed collection of shorts with An Almost Christmas Story. Boasting a distinct look and the vocal talents of John C. Reilly, Natasha Lyonne, and Jim Gaffigan, An Almost Christmas Story is a beautiful fable that clocks in at less than thirty minutes but is packed with enough heart to fill a full-length feature.
Based on a story by Alfonso Cuaron and Jack Thorne, An Almost Christmas Story follows a young owl named Moon, a troublemaking little bird. Voiced by Cary Christopher, Moon is an impressionable youngster who causes mischief despite his best intentions, much to the chagrin of his father, Papa Owl (Jim Gaffigan). When Moon causes damage to their home in the forest, Papa goes off to find a new nest, leaving Moon to look after his little sister. But, when Moon gets stuck in a tree headed to New York City, he must figure out how to get home. While in the city, Moon meets a dog named Dave (Alex Ross Perry), a pigeon named Pat (Natasha Lyonne), and some others voiced by Phil Rosenthal, Mamoudou Athie, and Gianna Joseph.
Moon also meets a young girl named Luna (Estrella Madrigal) with whom he forges a bond. The two explore some of New York and try to help each other find their way home. Along the way, they encounter a folk singer, voiced by John C. Reilly, who imparts a message for the holidays that connects directly with Moon and Luna. Over a very short time, the owl and child realize something about what Christmas means with a message that is less tied to the titular holiday than it is to the entirety of the Yuletide season. Some beautiful moments showcasing an animated New York landscape and a couple of intriguing sequences give this short a boost of action.
John C. Reilly performs the songs in the short as his folk singer character works as both a part of the story and a narrator. The songs written for An Almost Christmas Story are called “It’s Christmas Today” and “The Spirit of Christmas” and both are traditional sounding while also feeling new. Reilly has always been passionate about music, and his voice adds a nice touch to the already sweet short film. Reilly’s songs are accented by a nice score by Daniel Hart. It helps that all voice actors here deliver subdued performances without one going too broad. Jim Gaffigan is subtle as the concerned father owl, while Natasha Lyonne and Phil Rosenthal have their trademark New York accents on full display without venturing into being too cliche.
What stands out in this twenty-one-minute short is the unique animation style that looks like wood carvings come to life. The close-ups of the various animals appear almost to be homemade decorations that come to life, with the background characters looking like two-dimensional cutouts used to fill in the scenery. Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Enola Holmes) and director David Lowery wrote the script. Lowery has made some films for Disney, including 2016’s Pete’s Dragon and 2023’s Peter Pan & Wendy. The filmmaker has also created unique films ranging from Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and A Ghost Story to the acclaimed The Green Knight. Lowery has an eye for ethereal and haunting visuals, which in An Almost Christmas Story gives the film an other-worldly feel that is also very familiar and comforting.
An Almost Christmas Story is a beautiful little film that feels like a hand-carved ornament you would put on your tree this December. It is intricate and delicate but rich with emotion and feeling. Many feature-length films struggle to imbue the audience with the warmth I felt watching An Almost Christmas Story. As a companion to Le Pupille and The Shepherd, An Almost Christmas Story is my favorite of the three and a shoo-in for consideration during the award season. It’s worth checking out even if you are not in the holiday spirit.
An Almost Christmas Story premieres on November 15th on Disney+.
The post An Almost Christmas Story Review: David Lowery and Alfonso Cuaron deliver a beautiful animated holiday fable appeared first on JoBlo.
Plot: Moon is a curious young owl who unexpectedly finds himself stuck in a Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Plaza. In his attempts to escape the bustling city, Moon befriends a lost little girl named Luna. Together, they embark on a heartwarming adventure, discovering the magic of the holiday season and forming an unlikely bond as they journey back home to their parents.
Review: Alfonso Cuaron is as adventurous a director as a producer. While his name has been big this year thanks to the masterpiece that is the Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, Cuaron has lent his backing to the third short film in a trilogy for Disney+. Following 2022’s Le Pupille and last year’s The Shepherd, Cuaron enlists director David Lowery to wrap the Christmas-themed collection of shorts with An Almost Christmas Story. Boasting a distinct look and the vocal talents of John C. Reilly, Natasha Lyonne, and Jim Gaffigan, An Almost Christmas Story is a beautiful fable that clocks in at less than thirty minutes but is packed with enough heart to fill a full-length feature.
Based on a story by Alfonso Cuaron and Jack Thorne, An Almost Christmas Story follows a young owl named Moon, a troublemaking little bird. Voiced by Cary Christopher, Moon is an impressionable youngster who causes mischief despite his best intentions, much to the chagrin of his father, Papa Owl (Jim Gaffigan). When Moon causes damage to their home in the forest, Papa goes off to find a new nest, leaving Moon to look after his little sister. But, when Moon gets stuck in a tree headed to New York City, he must figure out how to get home. While in the city, Moon meets a dog named Dave (Alex Ross Perry), a pigeon named Pat (Natasha Lyonne), and some others voiced by Phil Rosenthal, Mamoudou Athie, and Gianna Joseph.
Moon also meets a young girl named Luna (Estrella Madrigal) with whom he forges a bond. The two explore some of New York and try to help each other find their way home. Along the way, they encounter a folk singer, voiced by John C. Reilly, who imparts a message for the holidays that connects directly with Moon and Luna. Over a very short time, the owl and child realize something about what Christmas means with a message that is less tied to the titular holiday than it is to the entirety of the Yuletide season. Some beautiful moments showcasing an animated New York landscape and a couple of intriguing sequences give this short a boost of action.
John C. Reilly performs the songs in the short as his folk singer character works as both a part of the story and a narrator. The songs written for An Almost Christmas Story are called “It’s Christmas Today” and “The Spirit of Christmas” and both are traditional sounding while also feeling new. Reilly has always been passionate about music, and his voice adds a nice touch to the already sweet short film. Reilly’s songs are accented by a nice score by Daniel Hart. It helps that all voice actors here deliver subdued performances without one going too broad. Jim Gaffigan is subtle as the concerned father owl, while Natasha Lyonne and Phil Rosenthal have their trademark New York accents on full display without venturing into being too cliche.
What stands out in this twenty-one-minute short is the unique animation style that looks like wood carvings come to life. The close-ups of the various animals appear almost to be homemade decorations that come to life, with the background characters looking like two-dimensional cutouts used to fill in the scenery. Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Enola Holmes) and director David Lowery wrote the script. Lowery has made some films for Disney, including 2016’s Pete’s Dragon and 2023’s Peter Pan & Wendy. The filmmaker has also created unique films ranging from Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and A Ghost Story to the acclaimed The Green Knight. Lowery has an eye for ethereal and haunting visuals, which in An Almost Christmas Story gives the film an other-worldly feel that is also very familiar and comforting.
An Almost Christmas Story is a beautiful little film that feels like a hand-carved ornament you would put on your tree this December. It is intricate and delicate but rich with emotion and feeling. Many feature-length films struggle to imbue the audience with the warmth I felt watching An Almost Christmas Story. As a companion to Le Pupille and The Shepherd, An Almost Christmas Story is my favorite of the three and a shoo-in for consideration during the award season. It’s worth checking out even if you are not in the holiday spirit.
An Almost Christmas Story premieres on November 15th on Disney+.
The post An Almost Christmas Story Review: David Lowery and Alfonso Cuaron deliver a beautiful animated holiday fable appeared first on JoBlo.
Poetry Comics Month, Day 12: Repetition
The Alien franchise is set to continue on the small screen with an “FX on Hulu” TV series called Alien: Earth, from Fargo creator Noah Hawley. The show began filming in Thailand last year, then had to halt production after a month due to the actors strike. Filming resumed earlier this year and wrapped a few months ago – and now the first footage has been unveiled! This footage can be seen in the embed above, a video Disney+ released to celebrate five years of their streaming service and to give a preview of the shows that will be reaching Disney+ and “Hulu on Disney+” in the next year (so Alien: Earth could be described as an “FX on Hulu on Disney+” project), as Hulu is streaming in the Disney+ app for Bundle subscribers in the United States.
Of course, Alien: Earth isn’t the only show featured in this promo video. We also get a look at FX’s The Bear (Season 4), Andor (Season 2, streaming April 22nd), Hulu’s Chad Powers, Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again (streaming March 4th), Hulu’s Good American Family (formerly known as Orphan), Goosebumps: The Vanishing (streaming January 10th on Disney+ and Hulu), Marvel Television’s Ironheart (streaming June 24th), Hulu’s Paradise, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Season 2), Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (streaming December 3, 2024), and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 6).
One of the first things we heard about the Alien TV series – and one of the most surprising things about it – is that it will be set on Earth (thus the title), a couple of decades before the events of the first movie. FX chairman John Landgraf has said the show will take place “right near the end of this century.” According to Deadline, the setting puts it “a few years before Prometheus,” which Hawley has previously said he has chosen not to acknowledge. Hawley decided to set the show on Earth because “The alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a space ship. I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of ‘What happens if you can’t contain it?’ are more immediate.“ Variety noted that the Alien TV series will “explore the formation of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the race to create android life.”
Alien: Earth has the following synopsis: When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
Chandler’s Alien character is the meta-human Wendy, who has the body of an adult, but the brain and consciousness of a child. Her co-stars include Essie Davis (The Babadook) as Dame Silvia, Alex Lawther (The End of the F*cking World) as a soldier named CJ, Samuel Blenkin (Black Mirror) as a CEO named Boy Kavalier, Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger) as a character named Slightly, Kit Young (Shadow and Bone) as a character called Tootles, and Timothy Olyphant (Justified) Kirsh, a synth who acts as a mentor and trainer for Wendy. Babou Ceesay (Guerrilla), Jonathan Ajayi (Wonder Woman 1984), Erana James (The Wilds), Lily Newmark (Sex Education), Diêm Camille (Washington Black), Adrian Edmondson (The Young Ones), Moe Bar-El (The Peripheral), and David Rysdahl (Fargo season 5) are in the cast as well, but no details have been revealed about their characters. Sandra Yi Sencindiver of Foundation will be playing “a senior member of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation” in multiple episodes, and her role could be expanded as the series continues.
What did you think of the Alien: Earth footage featured in the Disney+ promo, and of the footage from other shows? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The post Disney unveils the first Alien: Earth footage in 2025 promo video that also features Marvel, Star Wars, & more appeared first on JoBlo.
Another new showreel of Disney Plus’s upcoming shows has appeared, and alongside new glimpses of Daredevil, Ironheart and Alien: Earth, the first ever footage of Andor season 2 can be seen.
Another new showreel of Disney Plus’s upcoming shows has appeared, and alongside new glimpses of Daredevil, Ironheart and Alien: Earth, the first ever footage of Andor season 2 can be seen.
There have been some exciting reveals coming out of D23 Brazil this past weekend. Most notably, Marvel Studios would release new trailers for the upcoming movies in the MCU slate — Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. Captain America: Brave New World would give fans an even more extended look at Harrison Ford’s President Ross as he turns into the Red Hulk. And the Thunderbolts* trailer would show off more of the dynamic between the team as the new look featured a good chunk of a chase scene, where our anti-heroes are being pursued by mysterious military vehicles, and Bucky Barnes comes to their rescue.
Deadline is now reporting that MCU head Kevin Feige has teased some additional information from this past weekend. He tells the Brazilian website Omelete that despite the news of the Blade reboot being taken off their calendar, the studio is still “committed” to the project. Feige explained,
We love the character, we love Mahershala’s version of him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still trying to figure out how it fits into our schedule, we let the public know. You’re up to date on what’s going on. But I can tell you that the character will be coming to the MCU.”
Additionally, with the premiere of the Disney+ series Agatha All Along, many were wondering about the whereabouts of Scarlet Witch. Feige would also cryptically address this matter as he say, “Since then (Agatha), there have been a lot of questions about Wanda on fans’ minds… So all I can say is that we’re excited to find out when and how the Scarlet Witch might return.” He would also confirm that there are no current plans to bring Miles Morales’ Spider-Man into the MCU, but he does say, “I hope that, shortly after that (Beyond the Spider-Verse), he can enter the MCU in live-action.”
There may be extra multiverse branch projects brewing at the studio as well, since Ryan Reynolds claimed that Marvel has been obsessed with Channing Tatum’s Gambit since his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine. Reynolds would explain, “I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role. It’s kind of like the same situation I went through. Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action.”
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