We all know that with great power comes great responsibility. And it turns out that original Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi is ready for both, candidly revealing that there is absolutely a chance of continuing his spin on the series.

Appearing at a convention over the weekend, Sam Raimi revealed to one excited fan (via his X account) the following: “He told me that there are chances of this happening simply because he has the same desire as we do. But if it is to happen, it will be at the right time.” There’s a bit of optimistic speculation within that statement, but we’ll take it at this point.

It’s been 17 years since the last time Sam Raimi stepped behind the camera for a Spider-Man movie. Surely a Spider-Man 4 would have been on the table considering the original trilogy grossed more than $2.5 billion worldwide. And it was – but that’s a story best analyzed in video form:

Much speculation has been made as to whether Spider-Man 4 could ever happen with Raimi and Tobey Maguire. While we did get our OG Peter Parker fill with 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, there’s really no matching the nostalgia of that original pairing, which showed once again the legs (eight or not) that superhero movies had. As of late, Thomas Haden Church – who played Sandman in 2007’s Spider-Man 3 – also gave some hope as to a potential fourth Spidey. “I think Sam is gonna do another Spider-Man with Tobey [Maguire], and that’s the one that … They had an option for me to do Spider-Man 4 when there was going to be a Spider-Man 4. They had an option on me to come back. So if it happens, that would be fantastic. I’m getting a little old.”

Age would definitely be playing a factor here. Raimi is now in his mid-60s but Maguire nearing 50 might be the real problem. Sure, he suited up nicely for No Way Home but could he handle an entire movie?

Do you fully anticipate Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire will re-team for Spider-Man 4? Is this a worthwhile effort at this point in time? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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After winning a staring contest against Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony, Michael Keaton is opening up about his bizarre cameo in Sony’s 2022 Spider-Man spin-off film Morbius. Among the film’s many cinematic crimes is Keaton’s post-credits guest spot as Adrian Toomes, aka The Vulture. Despite the opinion that adding Michael Keaton to any film makes it better, fans scratched their heads in confusion when Toomes appeared. Some fans suggest this scene is another attempt to tease a Sinister Six film in Sony’s live-action Spider-Verse franchise, but we’ve heard that song before. Eventually, you must either clarify your intentions or scrap the project entirely.

On the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Keaton admitted he’s just as confused as everyone else about his Morbius cameo, saying, “No, no idea. None. Zero,” Keaton said. “I mean, they said ‘Okay’… and even they couldn’t quite explain it. They said, ‘Look, let me just kind of tell you,’ and I go, ‘I really don’t quite know what you’re talking about or even who some of these people are,’ and he said, ‘Okay, let me explain,’ but it was complicated because, obviously, they were looking down the road…”

Michael Keaton’s Morbius cameo implies that, at some point, Adrian Toomes recruits Jared Leto’s Michael Morbius for a version of the Sinister Six, a team of Spider-Man’s rogues hellbent on pulling the legs off the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. When you consider the horrific reception of Morbius, it’s doubtful that Leto’s character will appear in any of Sony’s future Spider-films. With the box office failure of Morbius and, even worse, Madame Web, Sony’s live-action Spider-Verse desperately needs re-webbing. The studio’s Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the project’s title character, has yet to pounce into theaters, but the outlook appears bleak.

It’s a shame that Keaton’s Vulture will unlikely appear in future Spider-Man films. Keaton delivers a fantastic performance as the scorned villain in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, with opportunities to increase his hatred for Spider-Man during an extended prison sentence. I could see Keaton bringing Vulture to new heights if given the chance, but I won’t hold my breath.

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PLOT: A hitman, Knox (Michael Keaton), discovers he has a fast-acting form of dementia and only has weeks of lucidity left. Shortly after this diagnosis, in a moment of confusion, he botches a hit, killing both his partner and a civilian. As if that weren’t bad enough, his estranged son (James Marsden) shows up on his doorstep needing help covering up a murder.

REVIEW: Knox Goes Away has a premise that’s becoming increasingly popular: an aging killer develops dementia and must put things right while he can. Liam Neeson played a similarly afflicted killer in Memory last year (itself a remake), and Nicolas Cage played another character like this in The Dying of the Light. Neither of those films was great because they focused on everything but the protagonist’s condition. Knox Goes Away is different. Michael Keaton, who also directs (from a script by Gregory Poirier), focuses on Knox and his ever-diminishing faculties. Knox knows he only has a little time left where he’s still the man everyone thinks he is, and the film follows him as he puts to work a desperate plan to save his son.

Keaton could have played Knox as aloof and cold, but perhaps sensing this is a cliche, the character is instead shown to be urbane and sophisticated. He gets along well with his killer partner (a terrific Ray Mckinnon) and is so valued by his former handler (Al Pacino) that when he loses focus, he has people to rely on whom he knows won’t cross him.

While the movie may go a little overboard in establishing Knox’s killer bonafides (he’s a Gulf War Vet with not one but two PhDs), Keaton’s so charismatic a star that it all works. There’s probably an action movie version of Knox Goes Away that could have been made, but I prefer the moody drama that Keaton crafted. He’s supported by a slick cast, which includes an engaged Al Pacino, who works in enough quirks (such as eating Chinese food in his bathtub) to keep what could have been a stock character interesting. Keaton does this with pretty much the whole cast, in that the people chosen are less obvious but inspired choices, such as Cold War’s Joanna Kulig as a prostitute Knox sees every week and Suzy Nakamura as the acid-tongued cop investigating the murders Knox is connected to.

Meanwhile, James Marsden plays Knox’s estranged son in an uncharacteristically intense role. He’s always been highly likable. We’re on his side even before we find out that the guy he killed is a white supremacist pedophile (in a darkly humorous moment, Knox jokes that if his son had already buried the body, he would have dug him up just to kill him again). You get that Knox has an extended family worth protecting, and as opposed to a Liam Neeson movie where the hero would use brute force, Knox uses cunning and intelligence.

Through it all, Keaton keeps the pacing tight, never going overboard with the tricks he uses to depict Knox’s failing memory. As this is an actor’s showcase, he doesn’t need to present the star at the top of his game (similar to the recent Dopesick). While a more action-driven movie might have made it an easier sell commercially, Keaton’s made an intelligent, tough-guy noir that would make the genre icons proud.

Michael Keaton

GOOD

7

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As we wait for Disney and Marvel to usher in a new era of X-Men-related film content, questions about who could play the iconic mutants continue to burn in fans’ minds. For several years, fan casts for the part of Wolverine have run rampant online, with everyone from Jared Kesso to Daniel Radcliffe and Taron Egerton floated as someone to play the adamantium-clawed Canadian hero. But what about Professor Charles Xavier? The mutant mentalist is one of the franchise’s most iconic characters. After Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy’s performances, playing the bald father figure to many mutants will take someone extraordinary. How about Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian, and Kaleidoscope actor Giancarlo Esposito?

Speaking with Amon Warmann, Giancarlo Esposito says it’d be great to play Professor X in an X-Men project, though he’d like to change an aspect of the character’s mobility.

Big fan of both our interviewees this week, and really enjoyed these chats. I'm also very here for Giancarlo Esposito's Professor X take (and it would be excellent casting). Full chat here https://t.co/laAscIlKWq https://t.co/lfbPm04WBh pic.twitter.com/WtK5sPYwGt

— Amon Warmann (@AmonWarmann) March 10, 2024

“I’ve given it a cursory glance in my brain, and immediately I go ‘Hmm.’ [It would] be great to play Professor X in some other incarnation that is just the wheelchair. Right? Because the physical idea of being in a wheelchair every single day does not appeal to me. I just don’t feel that old and I don’t like to sit that much.”

Recognizing there are incarnations of Professor X in which the character does not use a wheelchair – such as the soon-to-end Krakoan Era – this version of the character could appear in future films.

“But certainly, we could figure something out maybe. Professor X wasn’t always in the wheelchair but that is part of his character development. So, I think about it a little bit but I don’t give it all of my thought because it would have to come to me.”

Before Esposito and Warmann move onto another topic, Warmann notes fans mentioning the idea of Esposito playing Professor X alongside a Magneto played by Denzel Washington. Esposito thinks this idea is “great.” Now, it’s all I can think about.

Who should play Professor X when Marvel Studios‘ X-Men Era begins? Are Esposito and Washington an excellent duo to play Professor X and Magneto? In the comments section below, let us know some of your casting choices for these iconic characters.

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Back in 2021, Prime Video aired the first season of the horror anthology series Them (you can read our review HERE), which creator Little Marvin and executive producer Lena Waithe put together with the intention of telling stories that will “explore terror in America.” All eight episodes of the second season, which is called Them: The Scare, are set to be released through Prime Video on Thursday, April 25th, and today a batch of first look images have arrived online to give a preview of the new season. You can check them out at the bottom of this article.

A press release notifies us that Them: The Scare will be, like its predecessor, set in Los Angeles. The first season, which is subtitled Covenant, took place in Compton circa 1952, while the new episodes move the time frame forward to 1991. The story of the second season centers on LAPD Homicide Detective Dawn Reeve, who is assigned to a new case: the gruesome murder of a foster home mother that has left even the most hardened detectives shaken. Navigating a tumultuous time in Los Angeles, with a city on the razor’s edge of chaos, Dawn is determined to stop the killer. But as she draws closer to the truth, something ominous and malevolent grips her and her family…

Deborah Ayorinde (Harriet) stars as Detective Dawn Reeve and is joined in the cast by Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) as Athena, Luke James (Insecure)  as Edmund Gaines. Also in there are Joshua J. Williams (Cloak & Dagger), Jeremy Bobb (The Continental), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld), Carlito Olivero (Escape Room: Tournament of Champions), Charles Brice (Homeland), and Iman Shumpert (The Chi).

Little Marvin provided the following statement: “With Them: The Scare, we wanted to combine our love of horror with a look at Los Angeles’s rich history and evolution. This second installment is a new story set in the 90s, one of the most iconic decades for film, music and fashion, particularly in Los Angeles. I’m also excited about our amazing cast: Deborah Ayorinde returns as a completely new character, Luke James delivers an unforgettable performance and the legendary Pam Grier, who has played so many iconic and beloved roles on screen, makes her return to horror… We couldn’t have asked for a more fearless group to lead this second installment.“

Them: The Scare is a co-production of Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios. Little Marvin serves as showrunner and executive producer with Miri Yoon and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, as well as Steve Prinz.

Did you watch the first season of Them, and will you be tuning in for Them: The Scare? Let us know by leaving a comment below – but first, take a look at these images:

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Samara Weaving has earned modern scream queen (or genre icon, if you prefer) status with roles in films like The Babysitter, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Mayhem, Ready or Not, Scream VI, and the upcoming horror action movie Azrael, plus a few episodes of the Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series. Since Weaving has worked in both the Scream and Evil Dead franchises, she was asked during a new interview with Collider which horror franchise she would like to be a part of next. Her answer: Nightmare on Elm Street.

The filmmakers behind Azrael had originally wanted to cast Billie Eilish in the role Weaving ended up playing. So when she was asked the horror franchise question, she said, “Nightmare on Elm Street. I can do it. Unless Billie Eilish gets it now.“

Weaving might be waiting a while to get her chance to visit Elm Street, because that is one horror franchise that doesn’t have anything going on with it right now. There are Friday the 13th and Halloween TV shows in the works, there’s another Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie coming our way, but there hasn’t been a Nightmare on Elm Street movie since 2010 and it doesn’t look like one will be going into production any time soon.

That’s not due to a lack of interest in the property. Kevin Bacon, Devon Sawa, and Sung Kang have all said they’d be interested in replacing Robert Englund (and Jackie Earle Haley) in the role of Freddy Krueger. Back in September of 2019, we heard Wes Craven’s estate had secured the rights to the Elm Street franchise. In November of that year, it was said that they were actively taking pitches. But apparently the rights issue isn’t as clear-cut as it appeared to be. Mike Flanagan has let it be known that he has an idea for a new movie in mind, but his agent can’t figure out who to have him pitch it to. Elijah Wood and his SpectreVision producing partner Daniel Noah have said they want to make an Elm Street movie and have “been in touch with the rights holders many times,” but that hasn’t gone anywhere. Blumhouse founder Jason Blum has said he’s interested in going to Elm Street. Guy Busick, co-writer of Scream 2022 and Scream VI, wants to write Elm Street and Friday the 13th movies… But there’s no sign of a new Nightmare on Elm Street movie going forward. The Elm Street franchise seems to be trapped in limbo.

Would you like to see Samara Weaving go to battle with Freddy Krueger in a future Nightmare on Elm Street movie? Share your thoughts on this idea by leaving a comment below.

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Castlerock Entertainment wants you to raise your horns and get ready for the reunion concert of a lifetime, as This is Spinal Tap heads into production for a long-awaited sequel! Cast and crew members are smelling the glove in New Orleans, Louisiana, with filmmaker Rob Reiner and original cast members returning. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer retake the stage as the surviving band members of Spinal Tap, with Reiner reprising his role as the documentarian Martin “Marty” DiBergi.

In addition to Reiner and the comedic trio, the This is Spinal Tap sequel includes a star-studded list of musician cameos, such as Elton John, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood. Guest, McKean, and Shearer tabbed out the plot, which finds “England’s loudest and most punctual band, reuniting for one final concert.”

“I recently spoke to Marty DiBergi who said that he was more than happy to take a sabbatical from his position as a visiting Professor’s Assistant at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts to once again document Spinal Tap to ensure their place in the pantheon of Rock and Roll,” said Reiner.

In 2022, Rob Reiner spoke with Deadline about plans for his This is Spinal Tap sequel, saying, “The plan is to do a sequel that comes out on the 40th anniversary of the original film and I can tell you hardly a day goes by without someone saying, why don’t you do another one? For so many years, we said, ‘nah.’ It wasn’t until we came up with the right idea how to do this. You don’t want to just do it, to do it. You want to honor the first one and push it a little further with the story.”

Can you believe it’s finally happening? David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) are taking the stage once again to melt faces, tower above Stonehenge, and tempt the Dark Lord with their sexy, swingin’ sounds! Are you looking forward to Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap sequel? Tell us in the comments section below who you’d like to see cameo in the forthcoming comedy.

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Within the reality of the Scream films, the murders committed by various maniacs wearing Ghostface costumes have inspired a franchise of movies called Stab – and in Scream (2022), we saw a glimpse of a moment in Stab 8 that showed a different sort of Ghostface. This one worn a metallic mask, had short sleeves on their costume, and was blasting away at someone with a flamethrower. Now the collectible makers at NECA have taken to social media to reveal that their latest Ghostface action figure is inspired by that moment in Scream (2022) / Stab 8! This thing is called the Ultimate Ghostface Inferno action figure, and you can see images of it at the bottom of this article.

Here’s the product description: Ghostface is back and coming in hot! This all-new Ultimate 7-inch scale action figure features updated sculpt and articulation beneath a new, opening soft-goods cloak with three interchangeable hood options. In addition to NECA’s updated faceplate technology, Ghostface comes with four interchangeable masks: chrome, white, devil, and aged. Other accessories include chrome knife, bloodied chrome knife, pitchfork, flamethrower with flame attachment, two machetes, and interchangeable hands—including the iconic “knife wipe” hand for the first time at retail. Presented in collector-friendly box with window flap, making this devilish slasher the hottest Ghostface figure yet!

NECA says Walmart shoppers will have the first chance to get their hands on the Ultimate Ghostface Inferno action figure, and advised fans to “tune in to the Walmart Collector Con Livestream on March 14th at 3pm ET” to find out how to buy it.

The first four Scream movies were directed by the legendary Wes Craven, who unfortunately passed away in 2015. For the 2022 Scream, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett took the helm, working from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. The film has the following synopsis: Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, California, a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

Returning Scream franchise stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette were joined in the cast by Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid, Mikey Madison, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Sonia Ammar, Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Kyle Gallner, and Heather Matarazzo, with Roger L. Jackson once again providing the voice of Ghostface.

Are you a Scream fan, and will you be buying the Ultimate Ghostface Inferno action figure? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen was hailed as a return to form when it hit theaters in 2020, and now the gangster franchise is being expanded with an all-new series on Netflix. While it doesn’t feature the same ensemble cast, the show is very much in the same vein as the film, with Ritchie serving as executive producer and director on the first two episodes. 

The entire season is now available on Netflix, and to celebrate the release, we sat down with a big chunk of the ensemble cast. First up were Theo James and Daniel Ings, who play the blue-blooded brothers at the show’s core. They play the sons of a late Duke who’s left them somewhat impoverished but land-rich. They discover their late dad was in cahoots with a major marijuana dealer. With the older brother, Ings’s Freddy, heavily in debt to the mob, the younger, more responsible heir, James’ Eddie, must dive head-on into the underworld, something he proves to be good at.

In our chat, we talked a bit about the two guys having grown up watching Ritchie’s movies, along with the Godfather references, with Ings flattered by comparisons to John Cazale’s Fredo. We also speak to Kaya Scodelario, the great Ray Winstone and Harry Goodwins, who represent the gangster contingent. For Scodelario, this is a huge change of pace, but it is one she felt more comfortable diving into, with her saying she could relate more to the material than some of the more fantastical roles she’s taken in the past. Working with Ritchie is a dream for Goodwin, while Winstone proves why he’s such perfect casting as OG gangster Bobby Glass, with him channelling his character in a way that I got a big kick out of.

Check out our review of the seriously fun series right here. The Gentlemen is now streaming!

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Stephen King made it very well known that he wasn’t a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of his book The Shining, so seventeen years later he took the chance to bring the story to the screen himself. He wrote the script for a three-part mini-series that was directed by Mick Garris and aired on ABC back in 1997 – and tomorrow, March 12th, Scream Factory is giving the mini-series version of The Shining a Blu-ray release! Copies are available for purchase at THIS LINK.

The mini-series version of The Shining has the following synopsis: Jack Torrance and his family move into the sprawling, vacant Overlook Hotel to get away from it all. Away from the alcoholism that derails Jack’s writing career. Away from the violent outbursts that mar Jack’s past. But Jack’s young son Danny knows better. He possesses a psychic gift called the shining — a gift the hotel’s vile spirits desperately want. In the hands of Stephen King, the “dead” Overlook comes horrifyingly alive. Phantoms lurk, the message “redrum” appears with scary frequency, and even garden topiary lurches into macabre existence in this atmospheric shocker.

The cast includes Steven Weber, Rebecca De Mornay, Courtland Mead, Wil Horneff, Melvin Van Peebles, Pat Hingle, Elliott Gould, John Durbin, Stanley Anderson, Cynthia Garris, and Miguel Ferrer, with appearances by Shawnee Smith, Sam Raimi, Frank Darabont, and King himself.

Here are the specs for Scream Factory’s The Shining Blu-ray release:

NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM AN INTERPOSITIVE
Audio Commentary by Author Stephen King, Director Mick Garris, Cast Members Steven Weber and Cynthia Garris, and Select Crew
11 Additional Scenes
1080p High Definition (1.33:1)
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
English SDH Subtitles

What do you think of the 1997 mini-series version of The Shining? Will you be buying a copy of this Scream Factory Blu-ray release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The mini-series has its merits, but I can’t say I’m a fan of it… mainly because I feel that choosing Courtland Mead to play Danny Torrance was one of the worst casting decisions ever made. Apologies for criticizing a kid, but his acting is painful to watch.

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