by Stone Marshall | Mar 6, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Get to speculating folks, because Disney just lined up their non-Star Wars movie release date calendar through 2023, and it’s jam-packed with all the untitled Marvel, live-action, and animation movie you could ask for (some would argue more, at that — how many live-action adaptations can you make?!) In fact, there are far more mystery titles on this list than rumored projects in development — especially when it comes to those Marvel movies.
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has articulated time and again that Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 mark a culmination of the entire MCU to date and remained guarded on what comes after, insisting that the folks over at the studio have kept the focus on finishing out Phase 3. But now, with a slew of new release dates on the docket, it seems likely that Feige and Co. have nailed down the game plan for Phase 4 of the Marvel universe.
Image via Marvel Studios
Or at least a loose version of it — with that Disney/Fox deal on track to close within the scheduled window, no doubt Feige’s team has come up with some contingency plans a bit like they did with Civil War. Ahead of the groundbreaking Sony deal, the Marvel creative team came up with plans for both a movie with and without the friendly neighborhood web-slinger. The only post-Avengers 4 movie that’s been openly discussed so far is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (though it hasn’t been directly confirmed), but you can probably put safe odds on at least one of these movies being a Black Panther sequel. Just a hunch. But Feige has done a damn fine job keeping the rest a mystery for now. Hopefully, we’ll get another full-on Phase 4 title reveal soon.
A few other major shakeups are hiding in there, too. Mulan got a major release date bump, from November 2018 all the way back to March 2020, bringing dishonor to us all, and the female Santa Clause holiday picture Nicole has been removed from the schedule. The film was previously set to land in theaters in November 2019, with Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader in talks to star. Per Variety, the Christmas comedy has jumped over to Disney’s bourgeoning over-the-top streaming service, which is expected to launch in 2019.
Now, onto all those untitled live-action movies. Daaaaaamn. That’s a lot remakes and reboots. Of course, Disney’s live-action wing doesn’t just revamp the beloved animated properties (though looking at the box office behind recent hits like The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, I’m willing to bet a whole lot of these fall in that camp), they also produce lowkey dramas like Queen of Katwe and Million Dollar Arm and fantasy adaptations like The BFG and A Wrinkle in Time. As for what some of the live action titles might be, here’s a full breakdown of all the live-action remakes Disney has in development, which range from old school classics like Pinnochio and Snow White to peak nostalgia remakes like The Little Mermaid, and some weirder stuff like a Prince Charming movie.
For now, you can find the new release date lineup below, and be sure to check out our breakdown of all the upcoming superhero movies while you’re at it.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR previously dated 5/4/18 moves to 4/27/18
DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is final title of previous UNTITLED CHRISTOPHER ROBIN PROJECT – previously announced date of 8/3/18 is unchanged
MULAN previously dated on 11/2/18 moves to 3/27/20
UNTITLED DISNEYTOON STUDIOS previously dated on 4/12/19 is now removed from schedule
PENGUINS (DISNEYNATURE) now dated on 4/19/19
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 10/4/19
NICOLE previously dated on 11/8/19 is now removed from schedule
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 11/8/19
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 2/14/20
UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION previously dated on 3/13/20 moves to 3/6/20
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION previously dated on 4/3/20 moves to 5/29/20
UNTITLED MARVEL previously dated 8/7/20 moves to 7/31/20
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 10/9/20
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 12/23/20
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 2/12/21
UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 5/7/21
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 5/28/21
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 7/9/21
UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 7/30/21
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 10/8/21
UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 11/5/21
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 12/22/21
UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 2/18/22
UNTITLED PIXAR now dated on 3/18/22
UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 5/6/22
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 5/27/22
UNTITLED PIXAR now dated on 6/17/22
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 7/8/22
UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 7/29/22
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 10/7/22
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 11/4/22
UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION now dated on 11/23/22
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 12/16/22
UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 2/17/23
Image via Disney
Image via Pixar
Disney Announces a Slew of New Marvel, Live-Action and Animation Release Dates Through 2023
by Stone Marshall | Mar 5, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
On this episode of Collider Heroes, Jon Schnepp, Amy Dallen, and Robert Meyer Burnett discuss the following:
- Benjamin Melniker has passed away at 104 years old. He had purchased the rights to Batman in 1979 and was listed as a producer on every Batman film since 1989. He also produced other superhero films like Swamp Thing, Constantine and The Spirit.
- Thor: Ragnarok contains a special feature called “Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years – The Evolution of Heroes”. In it, Joe Russo states that the next two Avengers films will be the culmination of all the Marvel storylines from the last 10 years.
- Nightwing director Chris McKay took to Twitter to give an update on the film. He tweeted that it’s “going to be a LONG process. So don’t expect casting news any time soon. We are taking our time.”
- THR is reporting that Fox is fast tracking a number of its superhero films including X-Force, Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, along with three new X-Men films for 2019 and 2020.
- A reddit user posted a first look at Zachary Levi in his costume for Shazam!
- Thor Odinson will be reclaiming his name and title as the God of Thunder in Thor #1 from current The Mighty Thor writer Jason Aaron and artist Mike Del Mundo.
- Marvel Studios concert artist Andy Park takes to Twitter to showcase some of his Black Panther concept art for T’Chaka, including a tribal sash and the classic cape from the comic books.
- Deadline is reporting that Humans star Gemma Chan has been cast to play Minn-Erva aka Doctor Minerva in Captain Marvel.
- In an interview with the French site Allocine, Joaquin Phoenix responds to a question about playing The Joker with “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
- That Hashtag Show is reporting that Wonder Woman 2 will feature Cheetah as the main villain.
- FX has released a new, creepier promo for Legion Season 2.
Image via Warner Bros.
Heroes: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers 4′ Will Be the “Culmination” of the MCU
by Stone Marshall | Mar 5, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Well, this isn't going to make Dwayne Johnson very happy. Walt Disney and Marvel just announced that Avengers: Infinity War will be opening everywhere, all over the world, on April 27, 2018. That's about when it was going to open in much of the world in a standard MCU overseas rollout, but the change means that North American audiences get it a week early as well. That's horrible news for A) Dwayne Johnson's Rampage which opens (for now) on April 20 and B) STX and Amy Schumer's I Feel Pretty which probably thought it had that Other Woman/Baby Mama pre-summer slot wrapped up.
This is a huge change both for the overall summer schedule and for the MCU release schedule. At a glance, there are four reasons for this shift, none of them particularly conspiratorial.
1. This gives them an extra week before Deadpool 2.
When Fox moved Deadpool 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) from June 2 to May 18, many of us saw it as a direct attack (or at least a challenge) to Solo: A Star Wars Story. But it also plopped two of the year's biggest comic book superhero movies into the same month. So, at the very least, this gives Tony Stark and friends some room before Wade Wilson and Cable show up. Granted, I'm sure both big flicks can co-exist, but this is probably good news for both parties. It also means that I may have to revise my thoughts about A) April being a relatively quiet pre-summer jaunt and B) Rampage being the biggest earner of the month.
This also leaves the key early May slot without a major movie, and I'm curious to see if any other studio will dare stand against the second weekend of Infinity War. But considering the history of smaller female-led comedies and dramas flourishing over the second weekend of summer (which is usually Mother's Day), I wouldn't be shocked to see I Feel Pretty move back a week and open on May 4th. As for Rampage… yeah, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe The Rock and his giant monsters will stay put, but we'll see.
2. It gives Solo: A Star Wars Story an extra week of marketing space.
We are reaching a point where the biggest competition for Walt Disney blockbuster offerings are other Walt Disney blockbuster offerings. We got Thor: Ragnarok, Coco and The Last Jedi within about six weeks of each other last year, and we got Doctor Strange, Moana and Rogue One within the same holiday stretch in 2016. Right now, the biggest competition for Walt Disney's Black Panther is Walt Disney's Wrinkle in Time opening next weekend. Sure, if the films are well-received and profits are made, then this is more about market share domination than making sure each big movie grosses as much as possible. But since Disney is willing to start the summer a little early, they are giving their Star Wars Story, which opens over Memorial Day weekend, a month of space.
Even if Infinity War is super leggy, it will be somewhat played out by the time the Han Solo flick takes priority. Even The Avengers had already earned around 90% of its $623 million domestic gross by the end of its fourth week in theaters. This move allows Disney to devote more attention to both summer biggies, which is arguably more to Solo‘s benefit than Infinity War‘s. So this ought to be to rest any talk of Disney moving Solo out of its Memorial Day slot, as it's full-speed ahead after this.
3. Disney and Marvel want the world record for a global opening weekend.
Consider this revenge for Universal/Comcast Corp.'s Fate of the Furious breaking The Force Awakens‘ global opening weekend record just under a year ago. The eighth Fast and Furious movie opened around the world in April 2017 with a whopping $532 million worldwide in 63 markets, bigger than The Force Awakens‘ $529m global opening in December 2017. Since the MCU flicks usually spread out their debuts over a week or two, that wasn't necessarily on the table until an hour ago.
I'm not going to sit here and argue that a new global debut record is a done deal, but that has to be at least part of the thought process here. Ironically, the last time a super-duper movie opened in late April was Universal's Fast Five in 2011, which kickstarted the summer with an $85 million debut weekend one week before Marvel's Thor opened with $65m. The goodwill earned by the MCU overall and by Black Panther only makes this a more appetizing proposition, along with the whole “casual fans who checked out years ago show up for the finale” appeal. Could we see a $550m global debut in late April?
4. Spoilers!!
In the past, Disney and Marvel haven't necessarily cared about MCU spoilers ending up online via Wikipedia or the like when said films debut overseas first. Yet, by coincidence or design, the global debut of this specific would-be climax is going to be that much less spoiled by paying audiences when it opens around the world at essentially the same time. Sure, reviews will (presumably) be out beforehand, but most critics aren't going to give away the heart-stopping sequence where Thanos blows up Tony Stark (thus saving Marvel hundreds-of-millions of dollars in Phase Four expenses) or the third-act beat where Hugh Jackman's Wolverine shows up in yellow spandex to save the day, so the bigger concern is general audience leaks. I don't necessarily think this was a prime reason (did knowing that Coulson died before The Avengers opened affect the box office in any palatable fashion?), this does seem to be a case where Disney is treating an MCU flick like a Star Wars movie. Let's just hope they let the press see this one before (or during) CinemaCon.
What does this mean?
Well, aside from the factors discussed above, this throws the April release schedule into comparative chaos, especially for the Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. Dwayne Johnson video game adaptation. If there is a downside, it's that Avengers: Infinity War will now have that much fewer weekdays where the kids are mostly out of school, which can make a difference even as the industry embraces year-round tentpoles. That's partially why Jurassic World ended up bigger (and leggier) than The Avengers. And it's why, if we can count late December holidays in the same category as summer weekdays, why The Last Jedi is still running ahead of Black Panther. Blockbuster season may now be year-round, but having the kids out of school is still a boost.
It's a gutsy move, even if Avengers: Infinity War could probably snag a $200 million+ opening weekend in the post-Thanksgiving slot if Disney went that route. And it again shines a light on the sheer amount of big offerings that Walt Disney tends to pack together, to the point where Disney is becoming its own biggest competition. And if the line between summer blockbusters and offseason tentpoles becomes blurrier and blurrier, you can expect more weird release dates like this one, as getting breathing room before or after the other biggies becomes a top priority.
So, yeah, in 2018, the year of the year-round blockbuster schedule, summer begins in late April. There's something… appropriate about that. The Russo Bros.' Avengers: Infinity War, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Zoe Saldana, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Tessa Thompson, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle and a host of others, now opens April 27, 2018, around the world. As always, we'll see.
4 Reasons Marvel And Disney Moved ‘Avengers: Infinity War' To April
by Stone Marshall | Mar 4, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Jeremy Smith wanted to talk about Jesus, so he picked up a shovel and headed out to build a tunnel.
A virtual shovel, that is. As both a Christian and a fan of the video game Minecraft, Smith has one foot in two different communities coming into contact more frequently in the fuzzy halls of cyberspace.
And, as a senior writer at the online ministry ChurchMag, Smith uses each of these communities to serve the other. He “vlogs” — creates online videos of himself playing Minecraft — while simultaneously explaining Christian ideology in a series titled “Minecraft Theology.”
“I wanted to look at some of the more basic stuff, some of the core competencies of Christianity,” he said in one of these videos as his Minecraft icon sped across a screen full of the chunky landscape Minecraft allows users to create and navigate via a computer mouse.
“Part of the prayer process is admitting that you’ve sinned. If you are of the mindset that you are perfect, then you should probably just go ahead and turn this episode off because I got nothing for you,” he continued. “We have confession when we say ‘yes’ to Jesus and become saved.”
In the realm of video games, the 149 views Smith’s video has logged may be far from viral, but Minecraft is becoming what some video game makers hoped Christian-themed games like Catechumen and Adam’s Venture that failed to sell well would become — a tool for exploring and advancing religion among gamers.
“Because Minecraft is so open any player can design a world,” said Vincent Gonzalez, a scholar who did his doctoral dissertation on Christian video games. “And whenever things are open, religious people tend to use it to express themselves.”
Ithaca College professor Rachel Wagner sees the use of video games like Minecraft as part of what she calls the “gamification” not only of religion, but of the world. She says religions and video games have several things in common — rules, rituals and a bend toward order and structure.
“Even if they are ‘open’ in the sense of allowing players to construct entire worlds for themselves, as Minecraft does, games always offer spaces in which things make sense, where players have purpose and control,” she said. “For players who may feel that the real world is spinning out of control, games can offer a comforting sense of predictability. They can replace God for some in their ability to promise an ordered world. ”
Minecraft is what techie types call a “sandbox” game: It has few rules, so players can dig in anywhere and build what they like. They build with virtual bricks — think digitized Legos — to create bulky buildings, plants, people, anything, in mostly primary colors.
There are Minecraft versions where players try to survive or go on adventures of their own devising. And there are versions where people — sometimes children, sometimes adults like Smith — construct homes, buildings, bridges, churches and other houses of worship.
Some Minecraft users even “build” their own religious icons. Using blocky “skins” — Minecraft lingo for a character — they create Jesuses, popes, priests, rabbis, angels and more to populate Minecraft worlds everywhere.
But while Minecraft can be used by players of every religion, it seems to be most popular among Christians. Gonzalez, who catalogs religious video games at religiousgames.org, estimates there are about 1,500 religion-themed video games, of which two-thirds are Christian.
Take a peek at Planet Minecraft, a fan site where users can share their creations. It lists 716 “Jesuses” and about 1,000 Catholic priests, but only 58 Jewish rabbis. There is even a Minecraft Richard Dawkins for virtual atheists.
Certainly, not all Minecraft players use religious skins or the churches and other houses of worship they build for some spiritual purpose or for proselytizing. But how they use them is hard to pin down.
“No one’s pastor is telling them the best way to minister to people is to pretend to be Jesus in a Minecraft world,” Gonzalez said. “So the question of why people want to dress up as Jesus and go around in Minecraft is hard to say.”
Still, Minecraft and other computer and video games have become so closely aligned with religion in some circles that the American Academy of Religion created a scholars’ group dedicated to its study four years ago.
“For most people, their virtual lives are an extension of their real lives,” said Gregory Grieve, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who has studied the two decades religious people have engaged in video games. “Among Christians it was a place for proselytizing and a place for meeting people they would not otherwise meet. People who are religious just see these games as an extension of their religious practice.”
Some build houses of worship — YouTube is rife with virtual tours of churches, cathedrals, synagogues and mosques, both real and imaginary. Some build Noah’s Ark or Solomon’s Temple or their own versions of Jerusalem and other “Bible lands.”
The Australian digital design firm Islam Imagined encourages young users to build the “mosque of the future,” and Jewish educators are enlisting Minecraft to visualize Jewish history and culture for students.
Others users create faith-based Minecraft “servers” — private virtual enclaves where members agree to certain rules (no swearing is a common one) and play the game in a form of religious fellowship.
These groups recently became a meme — or joke spread rapidly among internet users — in which users sardonically responded to foul language by uttering different versions of: “Sorry sir, this is a Christian server. No swearing allowed!”
But Eric Dye, editor of ChurchMag, says its Christian-oriented Minecraft server is merely a reflection of how its users see, or want to see, the real world.
“We can build things in it, like themed cities, and there is actually a church,” he said. “It is not like we have church services or anything but it seemed something fun to have. It seemed fitting. That is why you see religion manifested in Minecraft — it is just an extension of people’s interests in what they create.”
If you build it, they will pray? Constructing religious worlds with Minecraft
by Stone Marshall | Mar 4, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
By Shabana Arif Minecraft's Xbox characters are finally coming to the Switch and Wii U versions of the game. The popular skin pack will bring a plethora of Xbox exclusive character skins to the Nintendo platforms.
The latest update on Minecraft's official site details that the character skins include Master Chief, Banjo, Cole Train, ‘Splosion Man, heroes from the Fable series, and more, all ready for their first trip to Nintendo consoles.
The update will also see the addition of the Moana Character Pack, featuring Moana, demigod Maui, and even the perennially dumb chicken.
Various islanders and sea creatures will also be included in the pack, which you can download on the Marketplace.
Now you can enjoy the novelty factor of seeing Xbox characters like Master Chief swanning about on your Switch. This follows the Better Together update which allows for cross-platform platform play between PC and consoles – with the exception of the PS4.
You can find the new Switch and Wii U Skin Packs on the Marketplace.
New Minecraft Skin Pack Adds Master Chief, Banjo to Switch and Wii U Versions
by Stone Marshall | Mar 3, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Along with Moana, for some reason
Minecraft still has not received the “Better Together” update on Nintendo platforms, but we're getting a step closer to that reality. Launched just today, people with a Switch or Wii U can dress up their characters as Master Chief from Halo, some of the characters from Gears of War, rock some Banjo-Kazooie skins and even cosplay as characters from the Disney film Moana. Yeah, I don't get that last one.
I reported a few months back how Master Chief would finally be gracing a Nintendo platform, but I'm still in awe that this has actually happened. If only other companies were as happy to let people experience what they want, where they want it, but we'll just have to make due with a blocky, chunky Chief on Switch for now.
Moana and Xbox Characters Come to Minecraft! [Minecraft.net]
;)
Minecraft on Switch and Wii U gets some Microsoft skin packs
