It’s been nearly 30 years since the last movie in the series, but Bill and Ted Face the Music — the third film in the wacky, time-traveling comedy series — is finally concluding the franchise, and a new trailer gives us a first look at what to expect.

Face the Music finds Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves returning as Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan, the stoner buddies whose band — Wyld Stallyns — was supposed to write a song so good it literally saves the world.

But decades on, the duo has yet to actually write the song, much to the disappointment of the rocking utopian future that was counting on them. So the duo concocts the idea to time-travel to the future and simply steal the song from their future selves in what promises to be a final excellent adventure for the franchise.

It’s not entirely clear when Bill and Ted Face the Music will hit theaters, given the tumultuous summer release schedule caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shut down movie theaters across the country and delayed the release of nearly every single major theatrical blockbuster. The movie was originally scheduled to release on August 21st, but the new trailer and poster just promise it’ll be out sometime “this summer.”

Source: The Verge

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The upcoming sequel offers up a new story set in the original Ghostbusters franchise’s two-film (and a video game) timeline, but featuring a group of young actors in starring roles. Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard and The Haunting of Hill House actress McKenna Grace play a pair of siblings who discover that the farmhouse they inherited from their grandfather is not only home to some big secrets, but also that busting ghosts is in their blood.

The Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer doesn’t shy away from providing plenty of fan service, including plenty of shots of the Ghostbusters’ iconic gear and some scenes of the original ECTO-1 in action. It also delivers a few subtle callbacks to the original franchise, including a shot of the kids visiting the “Shandor Mining Co.” — almost certainly a reference to Ivo Shandor, the leader of the Cult of Gozer, who built the Manhattan building featured in the first Ghostbusters film in an effort to summon the god Gozer.

Judging by the supernatural happenings showcased in the trailer, a new generation of Ghostbusters will have to deal with the long-term effects of Shandor’s supernatural machinations.

Along with Wolfhard and Grace, the cast of Ghostbusters: Afterlife includes Carrie Coon as the siblings’ mother and Paul Rudd as a teacher at their school — both actors appear in the trailer. Original Ghostbusters stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts are also expected to reprise their roles for the film. Supporting cast members include Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Bokeem Woodbine, and Oliver Cooper.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is officially the third installment of the canonical Ghostbusters movie series, but the fourth film in the overall franchise. It’s a direct sequel to 1989’s Ghostbusters II, and ignores the events of the 2016 Ghostbusters remake (aka Ghostbusters: Answer the Call), which underperformed both critically and commercially. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is directed and co-written by four-time Academy Award nominee Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), the son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is scheduled to hit theaters July 10, 2020.

Source: DigitalTrends

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Kylo Ren idolizes Darth Vader and desperately wants to achieve the notoriety of the black masked, iron­-lung wearing villain. Snoke even goes so far as to antagonize Kylo Ren by claiming that he will never be as great as Darth Vader.

But was Darth Vader really all that great?

Now, I get that fans of the series view Darth Vader as an iconic villain and rightfully so. He’s intimidating, powerful, and watching him mind­-choke people using The Force is pretty awesome.

The Empire, however, shouldn’t feel the same considering how Vader has done nothing but fail them time and time again. Think about it, what did Vader actually achieve in his tenure as Supreme Commander?

Let’s take a look back at some of Darth Vader’s career accomplishments:

THE GOOD

• Killed Obi­-Wan Kenobi (but really Obi­-Wan let himself get killed).
• Froze Han Solo in Carbonite (but didn’t kill him).
• Cut off Luke’s hand (but let him escape).

THE NOT SO GOOD

• Not one, but two Death Stars blown up on his watch.
• Fathered son and daughter who are both key leaders of the Rebel Alliance.
• Had to outsource finding of Rebels to bounty hunter, Boba Fett.
• Failed to recruit his son to the Dark Side.
• Killed the Emperor to save his Rebel son.

That last one seems like it would be an instant legacy killer. I mean, Vader is essentially the Benedict Arnold of the Empire.

And talk about privilege, how do you let two Death Stars get blown up and still keep your job? I once knew a Production Assistant who was fired because someone broke into their van and stole some camera batteries. You’re telling me that a low­-budget production of a Rom­-Com runs a tighter ship than the Empire?

When you look at Vader’s track record, it’s hard to see how he could have maintained such a highly revered status within the Empire after all these years.

The only explanation I can come up with is that the Empire seems to be giving Darth Vader the I,Tonya treatment: Where we look back and admire a person’s struggle and greatest highlights while overlooking their massive flaws and failures (which in both Tonya Harding and Darth Vader’s case involve betrayal and sheer incompetence).

Now, I’ll concede that in a one­-on-­one battle there’s no other Jedi I’d bet on to beat Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker was never a match for Vader when they went head­-to­-head. Unfortunately for Vader, the battle between the Empire and the Rebels was never going to be won in a duel but rather on the battlefield… and this is where Vader struggled the most.

Let’s face it, Vader is not a master tactician. A more competent leader would have easily been able to snuff out a fledgling rebellion given the resources at his disposal. How can you call yourself the Supreme Commander when your Troopers are handedly defeated by a group of Ewoks. EWOKS!

At the end of The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren was right to want to burn down the past and forge his own legacy. Unfortunately for him, I think his fate may end up much the same as Vader’s except his legacy won’t carry the same weight as Vader’s simply for the fact that Vader came first.

But who knows, Kylo Ren vs. Vader may end up being the Jordan vs. Lebron debate of our generation. (Yep, that’s a sports reference in a Star Wars essay).

Regardless, there will be fans who idolize Kylo Ren as a morally conflicted, man-child uber­-villain that he is, and that’s all well and good, but it doesn’t mean the powers that be should automatically overlook his missteps and put him up on a pedestal.

That’s no way to run an Empire.

­­­BONUS GRIPE­: I haven’t seen this brought up much either, but towards the end of The Last Jedi when the Rebels reach the red salt planet with the Rebel base, how did they exit the base where they were hiding in order to try and take out the Battering Ram Cannon? I thought once they closed the giant hangar door they were trapped inside with no other exit, but apparently, they were able to sneak out into the trenches and pilot those old vehicles to do battle. Couldn’t they have used those exits to try and escape?

@ me Internet.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will conclude the current Star Wars trilogy, and a new trailer showcased at Disney’s D23 Expo teases what that end looks like. And now, Disney has posted it online for everyone to see.

The trailer opens with footage from all nine Star Wars films. A voiceover from Luke declares that there have been “a thousand generations, but this is your fight.” Rey, Poe, and Finn are preparing for the biggest fight of their life. Battleships tear through the skies, as Rey and Kylo Ren meet in the middle of a war-torn planet, ready to fight. The best bit of all? Rey is wielding a red, double-sided lightsaber.

This new trailer comes just a couple of months after Lucasfilm debuted the first one at Star Wars Celebration in April.

The Rise of Skywalker is a momentous film — not just because it’s reuniting Mark Hamill (presumably as the Force ghost of Luke Skywalker, who died in the previous film, The Last Jedi), the late Carrie Fisher (via footage shot for The Force Awakens), and Billy Dee Williams reprising his role as Lando Calrissian. It’s also the last Star Wars movie fans will see for a couple of years. Disney is taking a break from Star Wars movies, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who suggested that audience fatigue was the reason the Star Wars spinoffs Solo: A Star Wars Story and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story didn’t do as well as the company hoped. Solo was also critically panned.

The Star Wars franchise is set to return to the big screen in 2022 with a new movie from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson also has a trilogy in the works. Still, people looking for their Star Wars kick won’t have to go far. There are four Star Wars series in development for Disney’s streaming service, Disney+ — The Mandalorian, an Obi-Wan series, a Rogue One spinoff, and a return of The Clone Wars.

Disney also released a new poster for Rise of Skywalker, seen below. The film will be released on December 20th.

Correction (August 25th, 3am ET): The original story said the next Star Wars movie is out in 2021. It’s out in December 2022. The story has been updated to reflect these changes.

Update, August 26th, 8:35am: Updated post to include the newly released trailer.

Source: The Verge

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The news means that Spider-Man’s appearances in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe films — as well as crossovers from characters like Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man or Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in future Spider-Man films — could end with Spider-Man: Far From Home, released earlier this summer.

According to Deadline’s sources, the issue is money: Disney reportedly asked that future Spider-Man films be 50 / 50 coproductions between Disney and Sony, instead of the current deal, which is said to give Marvel (and Disney) five percent of gross box-office revenue.

Sony Pictures, however, contends that news reports about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise have been “mischaracterized,” without calling out Deadline’s report specifically. Sony limits the impact to the “next live action Spider-Man film,” and hopes Feige can return to his role as lead producer in the future.

Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. (1/3)

— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) August 21, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home made over $1 billion at the box office, which translates to more than $50 million for Disney. But it’s nowhere close to the total that the solo Feige-produced Spider-Man movies have brought in for Sony. (Far From Home recently became the most lucrative film Sony’s ever made.) Disney appears to feel that its stewardship of the franchise and the ties to the MCU films (like Avengers: Endgame, which eventually added a Far From Home trailer as a post-credits scene for its theatrical release) are responsible for those numbers, and it wants a bigger piece of the pie. Sony apparently disagreed, and now it seems that the two studios will be going their separate ways again.

According to Deadline’s report, Sony apparently feels that the combined creative team of director Jon Watts (who helmed Spider-Man: Homecoming and the sequel, Far From Home), actor Tom Holland, and producer Amy Pascal will be enough to keep the Spider-Man franchise momentum going for future films, even without Feige’s involvement.

Marvel Studios and Sony first agreed on a deal over Spider-Man in 2015, which would allow for the character to appear in crossover Marvel films, even though Sony maintained the rights to the character and was responsible for financing, distributing, and “final creative control.” Holland was cast as the character shortly afterward, and he went on to appear in the role in three Disney films — Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame — as well as in the two Marvel Studios-produced, Sony-owned solo films. Per the original reports of Holland’s contract, he still has one solo film left, although Deadline’s report notes that there are at least two more Jon Watts-directed films starring Holland in the works.

In addition to those two Spider-Man films, Sony has big plans for the franchise and its associated characters. After a less-than-stellar period of Spider-Man films in the early 2010s (which was part of the reason for the Marvel deal in the first place), the studio has a slate of Spider-films planned: an upcoming Venom sequel, set to be directed by Andy Serkis; the Jared Leto-led Morbius the Living Vampire; a Kraven the Hunter film; a Silver Sable / Black Cat film; and a follow-up to the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

Update August 21st, 3:07AM ET: Article updated with statements from Sony Pictures.

Source: The Verge

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During Good Morning America this morning, Sony and Marvel released a new trailer for Spider-man: Far From Home, showing off life for the friendly, neighborhood Spider-man in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame.

In the first trailer released earlier this year, we saw Peter Parker (Tom Holland) heading off to Europe for a class trip, only to be conscripted by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) for a mysterious mission. It also gave us our first look at longtime Spider-man villain Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Avengers: Endgame spoilers ahead. Seriously: Even Tom Holland is warning people about spoilers.

Ready? Okay.

As one might expect from the fact that Spider-man is in the latest Spider-man movie, the Avengers are able to undo Thanos’ snap at the end of Avengers: Endgame, un-dustifying all of the heroes that the villain wiped out of existence in Avengers: Infinity War, Peter Parker included.

The finale of that film casts Spider-man in a very different light than we originally expected: Peter and the rest of his class are picking up their lives five years after they were erased, and Far From Home looks to be a bit less like a lighter entry in the MCU, and more of a coming-to-terms with heroics moment for the young hero.

This new trailer shows that off a bit: Peter Parker is still reeling from the death of his mentor and pseudo-father figure, Tony Stark. He’s taking on new responsibilities, including dealing with Nick Fury and keeping New York safe from bad guys. Even while trying to take a vacation with his friends in Europe, he’s left to deal with the after effects of Endgame’s Snap.

Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 2nd, 2019.

Source: The Verge

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Just a day after Warner Bros. Pictures released the first poster for Joker, the studio has debuted the film’s first trailer, which offers a preview of Joaquin Phoenix as DC Comics’ notorious Clown Prince of Crime.

Directed by The Hangover franchise filmmaker Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with The Fighter screenwriter Scott Silver, Joker casts Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a man “disregarded by society” who eventually becomes one of Gotham’s greatest villains. The film’s official synopsis describes it as “a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”

The film’s first trailer offers a broad look at the circumstances that lead Arthur down the path to becoming Joker, hinting at the conflicts that eventually break him, and concludes with a shot of him in what appears to be the version of the character’s costume and clown makeup he’ll introduce in the movie.

Along with Phoenix in the title role, the film’s cast also includes Deadpool 2 actress Zazie Beetz, as well as Bill Camp (Red Sparrow), Frances Conroy (American Horror Story), Brett Cullen (Narcos), Glenn Fleshler (Billions), Douglas Hodge (Penny Dreadful), Josh Pais (Going in Style), and Shea Whigham (First Man). Comedian and actor Marc Maron (GLOW) also plays a supporting role in the film.

Given that Jared Leto introduced his own version of Joker in 2016’s Suicide Squad that is firmly set within the studio’s DC Extended Universe, Joker isn’t expected to connect with the rest of the DCEU, and instead exist as a stand-alone feature.

Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, Joker made his comics debut in April 1940’s Batman #1, and went on to become one of the most iconic villains in the entire DC Comics universe. Over the years, the character has been portrayed on the screen on several occasions, with Cesar Romero playing the character in the 1960s TV series, Jack Nicholson playing the role in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman feature, and Heath Ledger winning a posthumous Academy Award for portraying Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight. Star Wars franchise actor Mark Hamill has also famously voiced the character in multiple iterations of Batman animated series over the years.

Joker is scheduled to hit theaters on October 4.

Source: Digital Trends

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On Monday, Apple is supposed to unveil its take on a movie and TV streaming service. It’s not clear if it’ll be a full-on Netflix competitor, or if it’ll basically be a digital take on the cable bundle with some bonus Apple-made original content thrown in. But either way, we’re about to get another major player in the streaming battles.

On one hand, the emergence of all these streaming services has been amazing for content — there are way more companies willing to pay way more money for TV shows and movies than there were just a couple years ago. On the other, it means piecing it all together as a viewer is harder than ever, with great shows and movies locked into services you may only have a limited interest in subscribing to.

It’s not the worst problem to have. But it’s going to get even harder to trust that everyone’s on the same page about what new streaming release we’re all watching this week.

Check out 12 new trailers below.

STRANGER THINGS

The first trailer for Stranger Things season 3 is here, and for the most part, it just shows the gang having a well-deserved good time. At least, until the end, when things start to get a little creepy, and, obviously, there is a giant monster because this is still Stranger Things. But I think we’re all on the same page that the Hawkins kids deserve to have some fun one of these years. The new season debuts July 4th.

TOY STORY 4

Pixar released the first full trailer for Toy Story 4 this week, giving a look at how a spork with glued on googley eyes changes things up for the usual group of toys. It’s a cute premise that seems to drive Woody down a relatively familiar path (given that there’s been three other movies), but the road trip format seems like it should leave Pixar plenty of room to infuse some new energy. The movie comes out June 21st.

LUCY IN THE SKY

Lucy in the Sky looks a little bit like the fictionalized alternative to First Man. The film has Natalie Portman starring as an astronaut who, after returning from space, starts to feel isolated and lost. That said, the film is also said to be loosely based on the experiences of astronaut Lisa Nowak, whose story gets much darker and wilder than what’s teased here. The film doesn’t appear to have a release date just yet.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 — PARABELLUM

I got bored and turned off the original John Wick halfway through, but something about watching the trailers for these films still makes me happy for Keanu Reeves, who really just deserves a nice franchise. This trailer for Chapter 3 is all the better thanks to Reeves getting to quote one of his classic lines from The Matrix. It comes out May 17th.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

We got a first look this week at Quentin Tarantino’s next film, and, probably for the best, it doesn’t look outrageously Tarantino-y. The film is described as having an ensemble cast and multiple storylines, and it’s not quite clear yet how all of this is going to tie together. The film comes out July 26th.

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

This very pretty, very musical, and just a little twee looking film got its start on Kickstarter, made a splash at Sundance, and is now heading to theaters through A24. The film is broadly about gentrification in San Francisco, and more specifically about the things one person does to try to recapture the feeling of home. It comes out June 14th.

UNICORN STORE

Brie Larson makes her feature directorial debut with this quirky belated-coming-of-age story about a woman in her 20s who’s starting to face the drudgery of the workplace when she encounters a strange, seemingly magical store run by an eccentric character played by Samuel L. Jackson. It comes to Netflix on April 5th.

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA

Netflix’s very stylish take on Sabrina the Teenage Witch is coming back for another season. I don’t really know what’s going on here because I haven’t seen the show, but it looks like something cool is happening in basically every shot of this trailer. The new season debuts April 5th.

OUR PLANET

There can never be enough gorgeously shot, David Attenborough-narrated nature films. I cannot keep any of them straight, but it hardly matters. Look at the polar bears! Our Planetcomes out April 5th.

DEADWOOD: THE MOVIE

I never got around to watching Deadwood, so I have no idea what’s going on in this trailer. But I know people loved the show, so here’s hoping this long-awaited revival is everything people have been waiting for. It debuts on HBO on May 31st.

RILAKKUMA AND KAORU

This is adorable.

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BY COLIN STEVENS via IGN

Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of Avengers: Endgame, have confirmed the film is “at the three-hour mark,” though edits are still being made to the film.

In an interview with Collider, one of the directors said, “I think the studio is down with what the best story is. Right now, we think the movie is playing well and we’ve had great responses from our test audiences and we’re feeling very good about where it is. We’re still doing work to it. We’re not done with it.

“Again, this is a culmination film of 22 movies, it’s a lot of storytelling to work into it. Emotion is an intrinsic part of that to us. When you have to tell a really complicated story and you want strong emotional moments with the characters, it just requires a certain amount of real estate. This one, in particular, feels like three hours worth of real estate.”

In response to if the film might have an intermission baked into it, Anthony Russo said “We have screened the movie four times for audiences now. For the first three screenings, not a single person got up to go to the bathroom.”

Back in November, at about halfway through the editing process, the Russo Brothers said the film was at around three hours long. It appears that subsequent editing hasn’t diminished the current runtime significantly.

If it remains three hours long for its theatrical release, Endgame will be the longest MCU movie out of the nearly two-dozen MCU films. On average, an MCU film sits at just over two hours long.

The Incredible Hulk and Thor 2: The Dark World are tied for shortest MCU film at 1 hour and 52 minutes long, and Avengers: Infinity War is the longest running at 2 hours and 29 minutes. If Endgame remains at around three hours in length, it could be the longest film in the MCU by over half an hour.

For more on Endgame, read about what Hawkeye’s costume says about the state of the MCU during Endgame and how the recent Super Bowl trailer may have edited a character out.

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Here’s our first look at the latest installment in Keanu Reeves’ John Wick franchise, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. Much like the previous two chapters, this trailer suggests we should prepare for some gruesome action at the hands of trained assassins.

The trailer picks up where the second film ended; John Wick has been ex-communicated from the secret assassin organization that he belonged to and has a bounty on his head. He’s running around New York trying to kill every one of his enemies before they can kill him. It’s a stressful life, but it’s one that he seems well equipped to handle — both metaphorically and literally, judging by the arsenal of weapons he’s carrying.

John Wick: Chapter 3 is directed by Chad Stahelski, who also helmed the first two films. Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane will return to the franchise, reprising their respective roles as the Bowery King and Winston. Halle Berry and Jason Mantzoukas are set to make their franchise debut.

John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum will hit theaters on May 17.

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