Guardians Of The Galaxy made Groot – the Flora Colossus from Planet X – an instant icon, thanks to excellent motion capture work and the vocal stylings of Vin Diesel. The events of that movie led to something of a change for the character in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2., though – with him having been, essentially, re-grown from a cutting.
As a result, Groot was seen as a child in both size and intellectual capacity. In the post-credits sequence, however, we caught a fleeting glimpse of teenage Groot, sulking about being lectured on room tidiness – and it’s this size in which he appeared in Avengers: Infinity War. Yes, in Joe and Anthony Russo’s event movie to end all event movies, Diesel’s fan favorite was all grown up, though by the end of the film, he was wiped out by Thanos’ snap of doom, along with most of the other heroes.
If you’ll recall, we see Rocket walking towards his best friend as Groot begins to turn to dust. Before he does, though, he lets out one, final “I am Groot.” Unfortunately, Bradley Cooper’s raccoon doesn’t translate it for us – as he usually does – but thanks to James Gunn, we now know what the character was saying, and it might just break your heart. Are you ready for this?
Avengers: Infinity War Behind The Scenes Photos Reveal How Thanos Came To Life
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According to the writer/director, Groot’s final word to Rocket was “Dad.” As if the scene wasn’t heartbreaking enough, we now know that not only did Rocket have to watch his best friend be erased from existence, but that the little guy also saw him as his father, which no doubt makes the loss of Groot that much more painful for the only surviving Guardian of the Galaxy (well, aside from Nebula). We’re not crying, you’re crying!
Of course, we fully expect for Groot – and most of the other heroes – to return in time for next year’s Avengers 4. After all, when it comes to Vin Diesel’s character in particular, he sells WAY too much merchandise for Marvel to keep him dead for very long. And though that does lessen the impact of his death in Avengers: Infinity War somewhat, it was still quite sad seeing him go, and it’s only made all the more tragic now that we know what his last line was.
Whether you loved or hated Avengers: Infinity War, if you're a fan of the Incredible Hulk then it's tough to not be disappointed by his absence from most of the movie. The Hulk withstands a brutal beating by Thanos before being whisked away to Earth by Heimdall, and that's the last time you see him in his full glory. Bruce Banner tries and fails several times to get his greener half to come out and play, but the Hulk refuses to emerge. At most, we get a few brief shots of the Hulk's face replacing Banner's long enough to yell “NO!” And then he's gone.
So why is the Hulk shy all of a sudden? Why won't he help with the fight against Thanos? There are some obvious answers, most of them leading to the trauma of what he endured at the hands of Thanos. But there are some less obvious — and possibly much more likely — answers that fit more with what we know about the Hulk.
We have a Hulk and he's scared
Fear isn't an emotion usually associated with the Hulk, unless you're talking about how other characters feel about him. So the idea that the Hulk is refusing to emerge because he's afraid of Thanos may seem tough to swallow. After all, at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, the Hulk was willing to go toe-to-toe with a Godzilla-sized Surtur, even after the demon flicked him away like an annoying flea. Hulk seemed genuinely annoyed that Thor didn't want him to take another crack at the beast.
But it's still possible what's stopping the Hulk is fear, and maybe not even his own.
The beating the Hulk suffered from Thanos is unlike anything he's endured before in the movies. The only other fight the MCU Hulk has lost is his brawl with Iron Man in the Hulkbuster suit in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but he never saw the final punch coming and never had the chance to think about what was happening to him, not to mention that it was a fight he didn't really want in the first place. Scarlet Witch forced the Hulk to emerge and go on a rampage. It's possible he doesn't even remember it. The Hulk's intelligence and awareness, independent of Banner, has grown since his fight with “Veronica.” He knew what was happening to him as Thanos beat him. It's something he's never experienced before, and he may not know how to handle it.
Father of mine
One regrettable aspect of Bruce Banner's portrayal in the MCU is that — as popular as Banner's “I'm always angry” line from Avengers has become — the movies have never explored exactly why that rage is always with him. It's possible that directors Joe and Anthony Russo are using Thanos to finally give us a glimpse of that story.
In the 1985 comic Incredible Hulk #312, longtime Hulk writer Bill Mantlo wrote one of Bruce Banner's most memorable and influential stories. Most of the tale is a flashback to Banner's younger days. We learn that both Bruce and his mother Rebecca endured extreme emotional and physical abuse at the hands of Bruce's father. The father eventually murders his mother for trying to escape from him. Mantlo essentially told readers that the gamma bomb blast from 1962's Incredible Hulk #1 didn't create the Hulk. The trauma Banner endured created the Hulk — the gamma blast just set him free.
It's possible that what's stopping the Hulk from emerging in Infinity War is not that the beating he took from Thanos scared him, but that it reawakened the childhood trauma.
In fact, this could be why a certain bizarre scene was deleted from Thor: Ragnarok. In the scene, Banner expresses regret at missing his father's death because he was too busy working. In the case of the comics, that would seem strange considering not only did the comic book Banner have no fluffy feelings for his father, but it was eventually revealed that Bruce Banner actually killed his father. If the Infinity War filmmakers are planning on using the Hulk's refusal to emerge to introduce the abuse backstory, the conversation from the deleted scene wouldn't make sense.
A Hulk humiliated
Maybe the Hulk isn't scared and maybe the Hulk isn't traumatized. Maybe he's just embarrassed.
As was mentioned earlier, the Hulk has never experienced the kind of utter defeat Thanos handed him in the opening of Avengers: Infinity War. And the Green Goliath doesn't just have the intelligence of a toddler; he has the emotional maturity of one too.
The beating he took may have destroyed his confidence. The Hulk can't fix a Helicarrier engine like Iron Man or plug an interstellar portal with lightning like Thor. The Hulk has one job: beat the tar out of whoever needs a beating. If he can't do that then, in his mind, how could he be anything but worthless?
It's worth remembering that not only is Banner around other Avengers each time he tries to change into the Hulk in Infinity War, but there's a specific Avenger he's being reminded of — Tony Stark. And who is Tony Stark to the Hulk? Well, among other things, he's the only guy other than Thanos who's managed to knock the Hulk out. The first time Banner tries to change in Infinity War, Tony's right there, urging him to Hulk out. The second time, during the battle in Wakanda, Tony's nowhere to be found but Banner is inside the Hulkbuster armor. He's inside the suit that not only was used to give the Hulk one of his only defeats, it was created solely for the purpose of beating up the Hulk. It's possible that it was the wrong time to remind the Green Goliath of that.
The Hulk blames himself for Thanos
It's possible Hulk's reasons for refusing to fight are less about fear and humiliation, and more about guilt.
Right after the Hulk is defeated by Thanos, Heimdall uses his last few breaths to transport Hulk to Earth so he can warn them of Thanos. That means the first time Banner tries to Hulk out, as far as the Hulk knows, he was the only survivor of the Asgardian refugee ship. As far as he knows, Thor, Valkyrie (a.k.a. “Angry Girl” in Hulkspeak), and everyone else is dead. He probably couldn't care less about Loki, but Thor and Hulk formed a bond during Ragnarok and thinking he wasn't strong enough to save Thor from Thanos would be crushing to the Hulk.
It may be that a number of toy and collectible releases support the notion that it was guilt holding the Hulk back: specifically toys and collectibles that depict Hulk bursting out of the Hulkbuster suit. If it was originally planned that Banner would finally succeed in transforming into the Hulk while in the Hulkbuster suit — since we know it's in Wakanda where Banner is in the suit and it's in Wakanda that Banner eventually learns that Thor is still alive — it could be that the plan was that the revelation that Thor didn't die is would be what helped the Hulk defeat his guilt.
Third rock from the sun
The reason Hulk refuses to emerge may not have anything at all to do with Thanos. Ironically, it may be that he's too damn angry.
Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, and even Banner may have been fine with leaving Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok, but the Hulk didn't have much say in the matter. During their first one-on-one dialogue scene together, Hulk tells Thor plainly he has no intention of returning to Earth. “Earth hate Hulk,” he tells the thunder god. Thor and the Avengers? They're “Banner's friends.” Not his.
On Sakaar, the Hulk was treated better than he'd ever been. Not only was he not treated like some horrifying extension of Banner, but no one even knew about Banner. The people of Sakaar didn't run screaming from him for smashing his enemies; they cheered him. They had parades for him. They built a huge Hulk face on the planet's tallest building and gave him is own Hulk-friendly hot tub. Why would he want to leave?
Of course he knew he wasn't on Sakaar during the battle in Asgard and later during the journey on the refugee ship, but with his thick head and slow mind, the Hulk may not have truly grasped that he was going right back to the last place he ever wanted to be. Back to Earth where he was hounded, where he had no friends, and in fact where he was likely still wanted for the death and destruction he caused during the Johannesburg rampage of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Once he was in Greenwich Village, with Tony Stark and other puny humans surrounding him, maybe the Hulk was angry that he was right back were he started. Maybe he didn't want to fight to protect the last place he wanted to be.
Hulk thought Hulk was done, and then they pull Hulk back in
There's another reason why the Hulk's anger might be what's preventing his emergence, but it has less to do with what planet he's on than whose head he's in.
In Ragnarok Bruce Banner was convinced that if he changed into the Hulk, he might never change back. He tells Thor this shortly after Hulk's transformation to Banner in the Quinjet. We learn the Hulk had been in control since Black Widow forced Banner to change into the Hulk at the end of Age of Ultron's conclusion and that, while before he always felt he had “one hand on the wheel” when he was the Hulk, during these past two years he felt that the Hulk had taken the keys and locked him “in the trunk.”
What happens seems to confirm Banner's fears. After changing into the Hulk in Asgard, we never see the Hulk change back into Banner until Heimdall whisks him away to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in Avengers: Infinity War. As far as we know, from end of Thor: Ragnarok to the moment he's sent back to Earth, he's green the whole time.
During the two years between Age of Ultron and Ragnarok, the Hulk managed to stop himself from changing back to “Puny Banner” even once. The Hulk may have been convinced that he was finally free of his weaker half — free of losing control to Banner, free of being used like a tool by his fellow Avengers and allowed out only when they deemed it necessary. During those two Banner-less years, the Hulk got to feel in control. Maybe, like Banner, the Hulk thought once he came out in Asgard that would be the end of it and he'd be in charge for good. Now that it's clear that's not the case, maybe the Hulk doesn't feel like being Banner's tool anymore. Maybe if he isn't the only one who gets to play the game, then the game isn't worth playing.
The impending dog and pony show may include echoes of “business as usual,” a spiel offered to press earlier in the year, but the fact remains that no one really knows what is going to happen to Fox.The 2018-19 season, if all goes according to plan, will see the completion of Disney's acquisition of the network's sister properties (read: the prolific TV studio, long its programming pipeline). A leadership change is almost guaranteed — and a new game plan with it. So the question of “Will Star get renewed?” seems kind of trivial in comparison.One thing is certain: Fox has way fewer hours to fill next year. Its pact with the NFL for Thursday Night Football will suck up more than 30 hours of space previously occupied by original programming, lessening the recent pressure to find a reality hit to fill the void left by American Idol in 2016. And while Thursday's game is the NFL's least-enticing offer, it will still do a lot to lift the network's modest linear returns of late.
As far as scripted programming is concerned, the playbook already seems a bit different. Studio 20th Century Fox Television original Last Man Standing, canceled at ABC in 2017, is being revived at Fox with hopes of courting its older, middle American audience. The order is an abrupt left turn for Fox's comedy brand, which has long catered to millennials, with the quirk of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the late New Girl and acerbic cartoons such as Family Guy and The Simpsons. On the drama front, Ryan Murphy's 911 was a surprise hit, and Empirecontinues to drive the bus. New orders will reflect the network's desire to duplicate their success.
But, one year down the line, Fox may be something else entirely. So expect its May 14 play for advertisers to be one that focuses on reassurance, keeps its eye on the short game and hypes Thursday Night Football. Keep track of all the renewals, cancellations and new show orders with THR's scorecards for ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW and with all the latest pilot pickups and passes with our handy guide. For complete coverage, bookmark THR.com/upfronts.
THR will update this post with all the latest series orders, renewals and cancellations as Fox's 2018-19 schedule takes focus ahead of its upfront presentation to Madison Avenue ad buyers.
Courtesy of FOX
RENEWED
Empire| The Lee Daniels and Danny Strong hip-hop drama starring Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard and from 20th Century Fox Television will be back for a fifth season.
The Simpsons| The animated comedy from Matt Groening and showrunner Al Jean this season became TV's longest-running primetime series and is in the second year of a two-season renewal, it's 30th season overall. The 20th TV comedy is poised to become a Disney property should the $52.4 billion Disney deal earn regulatory approval.
The Orville| Seth MacFarlane's live-action hourlong space dramedy had an impressive short-order run last fall and earned an early second season pickup. Meanwhile, MacFarlane continues to mull his future as his overall deal with 20th TV expires this spring.
The Gifted | The X-Men drama earned an early season two renewal after completing its abbreviated 13-episode run. The series from Marvel Television and Matt Nix stars Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker and had an impressive run, averaging 8.3 million total viewers with delayed viewing.
911| The Ryan Murphy-produced first responders procedural starring Peter Krause and Angela Bassett earned a speedy renewal after breaking out during its midseason bow. It will wind up being the prolific showrunner's last series produced for Fox at 20th TV after his upcoming move to Netflix. Showrunner Tim Minear will remain at the helm after signing a new overall deal with the studio. Expect another big-name addition to the cast in season two, as Connie Britton eyes a reduced role after signing a one-year deal for the freshman call.
The Resident| The medical drama starring Emily VanCamp and Matt Czuchry has been a reliable performer for the network, averaging a 1.9 in the advertiser-coveted demo and nearly 8 million total viewers. The 20th TV drama from s exec producers Todd Harthan and Amy Holden Jones will be back for a second season.
Fall TV 2018: First Look Photos at All the New Broadcast Dramas and Comedies
VIEW SLIDESHOW
NEW SERIES
The Passage | Redeveloped from last season, the genre drama is based on the best-selling trilogy by Justin Cronin and is a character-driven thriller about a secret government medical facility experimenting with a dangerous virus that could either cure all disease or cause the downfall of the human race. Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Pitch) stars in the drama from Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights) and exec producers Matt Reeves and Ridley Scott. Emmanuelle Chriqui co-stars in the 20th TV drama.
John P. Fleenor/FOX
ON THE BUBBLE/AWAITING WORD
Bob's Burgers| As animated comedies have become the next genre to be rapidly scooped up by streamers, Loren Bouchard's Emmy-winning hit awaits word on a ninth season pickup. It is expected to return.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine| While not a ratings breakout, the Andy Samberg cop comedy from exec producers Dan Goor and Mike Schur remains a critical favorite. Sources note the series went into its current fifth season with an eye toward an endgame, though the series remains firmly on the bubble and could earn a sixth season. That the single-camera comedy is produced by an outside studio — Universal Television — may eventually help its fortunes given the pending Disney pact.
The Exorcist| The drama starring Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels underwent a casting reboot in its second season as the anthology-like series from 20th TV also lost leading lady Geena Davis. Ratings slipped year-over-year as the sequel to the 1973 feature film from showrunner Jeremy Slater remains on the bubble.
Family Guy| A 17th season renewal for the Seth MacFarlane animated comedy hinges on the showrunner's future with the studio and new deals for its voice cast as the five-season deals for Seth Green, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis and Mike Henry expire this season.
Gotham| The Batman prequel from Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment stars Ben McKenzie and is awaiting word on its fifth season.
Last Man on Earth| The post-apocalyptic comedy created by and starring Will Forte may be this season's New Girl as sources note the single-camera comedy from 20th TV could return for an abbreviated a fifth and final season — if it returns at all.
Lethal Weapon| The reboot of the feature film franchise of the same name would have been a slam dunk to return for a third season after serving as one of the network's most-watched dramas. However, star Clayne Crawford — despite his apology — has been fired from the Warner Bros. Television drama as producers scramble to recast the role and score a long-shot season three renewal.
Lucifer| The DC Entertainment drama from Warner Bros. Television remains on the bubble for a fourth season renewal. The Tom Ellis and Lauren German starrer averages a 1.4 in the demo and 5 million total viewers with seven days of DVR.
The Mick| The Kaitlin Olson comedy from 20th TV remains an internal favorite and scored an additional seven-episode order in its sophomore season. With New Girl ending and broadcasters looking to program to middle America, The Mick appears poised for a third season.
Star| The musical Empire spinoff starring Queen Latifah and Benjamin Bratt crossed over with the flagship in its second season and helped to give Fox a larger piece of its hit franchise. In its second season, the series also changed showrunners with Karin Gist becoming the third to lead the series.
Ghosted| One of the hottest packages last development season, the Adam Scott and Craig Robinson X-Filesfarce averaged a 1.6 in the demo and 4 million total viewers, nearly doubling its same-day returns when factoring in seven days of DVR. Produced by 20th TV, it's considered unlikely to return given the price tag on the series.
L.A. to Vegas | The Dylan McDermott airline comedy, which counts Modern Family‘s Steve Levitan among its exec producers, had a strong first flight with Fox handing out a quick three-episode pickup. The series, from 20th TV, grows 50 percent among viewers and the demo when adding DVR returns. It's expected to earn a second season.
Fox and producers are scrambling to save Lethal Weapon.
Multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that troubled star Clayne Crawford has been fired from the Fox procedural and studio Warner Bros. Television has been scrambling to find an actor to replace him.
Sources say multiple actors have been offered the role for a potential third season and have passed as the process continues ahead of Fox's upfront presentation to Madison Avenue ad buyers on Monday. Fox and WBTV declined comment.
Crawford has come under fire of late for his bad behavior on the set of the Damon Wayans drama. The actor recently apologized for two incidents for which he was reprimanded during the sophomore season.
Crawford said the first incident happened when he became angry with what he deemed unsafe working conditions on the set. After the outburst, the actor said he met with human resources, apologized for his role in the conflict and completed studio-appointed therapy, while also sharing a “sizable portion” of his paycheck with one of the parties involved — at Warners' request. The second incident occurred during an episode Crawford was directing when another actor on set felt unsafe after being hit by a piece of shrapnel from an effect.
“I absolutely love, respect and care for my crew and cast, and would never intentionally jeopardize so many jobs,” Crawford wrote. “I an incredibly sorry if my passion for doing good work has ever made anyone feel less than comfortable on our set, or feel less than celebrated for their efforts. Furthermore, I apologize to all the crew and cast for any negative attention Lethal Weapon is receiving because of these incidents.”
Crawford's behavior has left Lethal Weapon — one of Fox's better-performing dramas — on the bubble as many connected with the series have said they would rather not work with the actor. Fox and Warner Bros. Television have until June 30 — when options on the cast expire — to make a decision on the future of the series, but would prefer to do so before Monday's upfront presentation.
Network insiders are currently mulling the fate of multiple comedy and drama pilots as they piece together their 2018-19 schedule.
Keep track of all the renewals, cancellations and new show orders with THR's scorecards for ABC, CBS, Fox, NBCandThe CWand with all the latest pilot pickups and passes with our handy guide. For complete coverage, bookmarkTHR.com/upfronts.
Minecraft's next update will be its last for a selection of older consoles. The team at Mojang confirmed today that Minecraft for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and Wii U will no longer receive updates after the Update Aquatic.
The update will arrive a little later for these older consoles, as well as the PlayStation 4 version as well. Players on the Java Edition, along with the newer Bedrock Engine versions for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, mobile, and Windows 10 will be the first to receive the Update Aquatic.
The Minecraft team says it made the decision to drop support for the older consoles because they represent a minor portion of the game's player base. From Mojang:
Although we'd love to keep bringing new content to all our players forever, the older generation of consoles now make up less than 5% of our active players, so we've made the difficult decision to focus our efforts to support players where they play Minecraft the most and where we plan to add new features: on Java, PlayStation 4 Edition and the versions of Minecraft made with the Bedrock Engine on other consoles, mobile, and Windows 10.
The Update Aquatic will be a pretty major update for Minecraft, taking the game underwater with a boatload of aquatic species, mobs, and items. The update is currently in beta testing on Xbox One and Windows 10.
Two beloved learning games are coming together. Microsoft has partnered with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the company that owns the rights to The Oregon Trail, to bring the classic historical simulation game into Minecraft: Education Edition.
The new Oregon Trail Experience inside Minecraft: Education Edition will let students take a trip across North America while learning about the “wonders and challenges that pioneers encountered on this famous journey,” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt SVP Caroline Fraser said in a statement.
This new experience offers the “complete storyline of The Oregon Trail from Missouri to the Pacific Coast … reimagined in the open world of Minecraft,” according to Microsoft.
During their virtual journey, students will encounter more than 15 different educational lessons covering everything from history and geography to math, science, government, and language arts. Students will “think through the ratios of supplies needed, strategize on crossing rivers, and learn how the postal service relied on military outposts before the days of email,” Microsoft said.
Other lessons will challenge students to craft a short Public Service Announcement as they learn about the dangers of the Oregon Trail, solve math problems as they begin to understand how long and challenging the trail was, research fur trading companies to learn about economic concepts of monopolies and supply and demand, and more.
Students will also have the opportunity to “create their own 19th century communities along the journey,” the companies wrote.
Head here to download the new Oregon Trail experience.
