by Stone Marshall | Mar 7, 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 |
Here is everything we want to see paid off in the two climactic MCU installments.
It’s all been building to this: 18 films; 67 total characters. That’s a lot of narrative thread to weave. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and the directorial team of the Russo Brothers have promised that Avengers: Infinity War and the as-yet untitled Avengers 4 will be a culmination of every single plot element introduced since 2008’s Iron Man. That’s a lot to ask. Can they possibly pull it off?
Next Tuesday will see the release of Thor: Ragnarok on DVD and Blu-ray (you can already purchase it on Digital HD), and it’s a disc packed with special features, mini-docs, bloopers, and the like. The one bonus feature that got our attention, though, is “Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years.” Towards the end of it, Feige declares:
“With ‘Infinity War,’ we’re paying off every little thread and every little tease that we’ve had in what will be 18 films prior to ‘Infinity War.’ There’s never been anything like this. Being able to, film after film, tease at a larger story. Really building these stories up into a giant conclusion. While at the same time introducing an entirely new direction for the future.”
For the obsessed like myself, who spend week after week anticipating the next link in the chain, the entire appeal of the MCU is watching just how these characters come together to oppose the great galactic threat. I’m less interested in Thanos and his Infinity Stone collection than I am in the playful bickering centered around Mjolnir’s worthy judgment of the team. That being said, we’ve all been waiting a long time for Thanos to prove himself formidable, and if Infinity War sputters on that front, the collective disappointing sigh of fandom will be heard beyond the reach of our galaxy.
What does Feige’s assertion that Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 act as a culmination of everything the MCU has constructed actually look like? What do we want to have witnessed when Avengers 4‘s credits finally roll and we wait for its stinger to launch the next decade’s worth of Marvel stories? I’m sure you have an opinion. I sure do. Dammit, Rocket better trick Bucky outta his Vibranium arm to please his own sick humor. If we don’t get that, I riot.
Below are the 10 other plot threads I want to see addressed before all is said and done. I’m sticking to the characters I deem to be Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, so don’t expect much in regards to Hawkeye or Ant-Man’s climax. That opinion might change post Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp, but for now they’re not the folks stoking my interest.
10. Thor vs. Loki – This sibling rivalry ignited the first great threat that brought the Avengers together. A Shakespearean squabble of two boys slugging it out for their father’s impossible attention. In the process, Thor shaved off some of his arrogance and found compassion for the simpletons of Earth. Loki simply plunged further into contempt. But Tom Hiddleston is a star, and we can’t get enough of this rascal.
When last we saw the brothers, they were together again, leading the Asgardian people to a new home in Norway. Cut to Thanos’s ship blocking their path and the Infinity War trailer revealing Loki’s Tesseract presentation to the Mad Titan. Is Loki a bad guy? A good guy? Marvel now has him poised promptly on their “First Ten Years” banner. It seems he’s more of an Avenger than Hawkeye at this point.
Infinity War needs to seal the deal on his moral compass. Is he redeemable after the Battle of New York? Is he mischievous or villainous? If he’s going to continue beyond the next 10 years, that question has to be answered.
9. Hulk Hearts Black Widow – In Age of Ultron, Natasha found kinship in Bruce’s battle with the monster within. The Hulk has as much red on his ledger as the Black Widow. I’ve never understood those that dismissed this romance. Here are two broken human beings that fell in love because of their fractures. In his pain, she saw her own.
Of course, Natasha had to betray Bruce’s trust to unleash the beast in their battle royale with Ultron. Bruce’s only response was to lose himself in The Hulk and flee to space. After Banner crashes back to Earth, Infinity War must address their relationship. Can he forgive her for that manipulation of the monster? Has she already found another strong, wounded bird to care for in Steve Rogers? I don’t see a happy ending here, but it’s the kind of internal conflict that keeps the Avengers relevant over other pretender superhero films.
8. The Global Spotlight on Wakanda – At the conclusion of Black Panther, T’Challa stated to the United Nations that they are finally willing to join the world’s stage. The consequences of such good intentions will probably not be addressed until the sequel, but the next two Avengers films will show a nation ready to fight for the one tribe of humanity. The trailers certainly reveal Wakanda to be a major battleground against Thanos’s army, and it amplifies the global threat beyond our narcissistic worries for the United States.
Is the Soul Stone in the Necropolis? Is it the source of the Vibranium’s power? Honestly, that speculation holds little interest. What I want to see from these next Marvel mega events is a T’Challa that has learned from those painful conversations he experienced in his own film. We need to see the King. We need to see his influence on Captain America and Iron Man. Entering Phase 4, Black Panther will be a major leader for the Avengers.
7. Nicky Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Where’s Nick been? We haven’t seen him since he dusted off that Helicarrier at the end of Age of Ultron. Does S.H.I.E.L.D. even matter in the wake of The Winter Soldier’s Hydra revelation? Marvel probably wants to keep that going, but as the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show gallops around the cosmos, the super secret agency seems to be less and less relevant to the cinematic adventures.
Nick Fury jumpstarted this whole thing in Iron Man, but he’s never really been given his due. Tony called him “the spy’s spy” and I’d like to see how that figure has been preparing for Thanos. Is he simply just the pied piper that brought this threat response team together, or is he truly the James Bond badass we were promised 10 years ago?
6. Is Thor Still Worthy? – At the start of Ragnarok, Hela crushed Mjolnir to teeny tiny bits, shattering Thor’s confidence before sending him into gladiatorial combat against The Hulk. He got his groove back before the film’s end, and he certainly seemed worthy of the title despite his father’s prop hammer. If you’ve glanced at leaked toy images (how dare you) then you might have some clue as to the answer of Thor’s worthiness, but is there still a king without a kingdom?
Thor will be entering Infinity War with a heavy burden. Either he’ll be leading the last stragglers of Asgard or Thanos will have completely wiped out his race. Whichever option turns out to be true, Thor will be bouncing back and forth between intense rage and profound doubt in himself. By the end of Ragnarok, the god that accepted the royal chair led his people from destruction into further destruction. Avengers 4 will need to reevaluate the god as a citizen/protector of Earth.
5. The Daughters of Thanos – Possibly the most exciting element of Infinity War will be finally getting to see the Guardians of the Galaxy standing next to the rest of the Avengers. Rocket meet Tony. Those two monsters of sarcasm will be good for several hours of bloopers.
However, the conflict I’m most looking forward to seeing come to a head is the one between Thanos and his two abandoned daughters: Gamora and Nebula. They were raised to be extensions of his tyranny, so Thanos should probably meet justice at their hands rather than Tony Stark’s repulser blasts. Coming out of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as sisters, Gamora and Nebula look to be a major dramatic force against the big bad.
4. The Infinity Gauntlet – What’s the big deal? Since Thor: The Dark World, we’ve been hearing about how great and powerful these infinity stones are, but how much worse could it possibly get when they’re assembled in Thanos’s magic glove? The mind stone, the reality stone, the power stone, the space stone, the time stone, the soul stone. So what? We need to see their horror.
Planets will certainly be pulled from the sky, but we could also be seeing Thanos wield his might over time and space. The dead could be resurrected. Anyone screaming for the return of Quicksilver? It would absolutely shatter the Scarlet Witch and could splinter her abilities into a million different places. A brutalized Wanda could serve as a painful starting point for Phase 4. Could her comic book damnation of “No More Mutants” be adapted to “No More Avengers?” The Infinity Gauntlet needs to destroy our heroes in a way the’ve never experienced before. Otherwise, what’s the point?
3. Tony and Pepper Together Forever – What started out as the will they/won’t they flirtatious couple of the franchise has become its driving romance. When it looked like the MCU was phasing out Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts I was deeply disappointed. Iron Man 3 was just starting to find a home for her character, and Tony without his heart is a dangerous cocktail with the potential for causing catastrophe. When Pepper made her cameo return in Spider-Man: Homecoming, I was delighted. Tony needs a reason to fight beyond his own ego.
2. The Man Out of Time Finds His Home – Since Steve Rogers was awoken from his 70-year slumber in the ice, he has been searching for a home in our time. He thought he had found it with S.H.I.E.L.D., but the clearcut good fight of World War II had transformed into a morally gray quagmire. The Winter Soldier showed Steve that blind allegiance was no longer possible. In Age of Ultron, he thought the Avengers would be his new platoon, but then Tony Stark had to go and screw that all up in Civil War.
Infinity War will be the ultimate test of faith for Captain America. We’ve been crying out for stakes in the Marvel Universe, and some wonder if it’s time for Rogers to make that sacrificial play he so admires. Will Bucky take up the mantel? Will Sam Wilson? But Rogers has already done that in The First Avenger. We know he’s got a death wish. Since the first film he’s been hunting for a life and he needs to find it.
Rogers may never pick up his shield again. His time as Captain America may be over. He will have to find his home elsewhere as a direct result of Phase 3’s climax, but I don’t think he’s going to die at the conclusion of Avengers 4. I think that task will fall on another hero (see below).
1. Tony Stark’s Terrifying Legacy – In the “Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years” special feature, KFeige refers to Tony Stark as “the heart of the MCU.” He has been there since the very beginning and he must be there for the conclusion. His death will serve as a chrysalis for the next phase in this never-ending franchise. Forget contractual agreements, he’s got to go for the story.
Tony Stark is a hero plagued with demons. Demons of his own making. In 2008, he learned that his terrifying brain was the genesis for a lot of the world’s misery. He attempted to redeem his past sins through his Iron Man prosthesis. He hoped to put a blanket on our fragile planet when he created an A.I. security system. More misery followed.
At the start of Age of Ultron, Stark got a glimpse of his legacy courtesy of the Scarlet Witch’s magical manipulation. He saw an Earth conquered, his friends dead at his feet. He saw himself helpless. This fear would drive him into further conflict with his team, and eventually shatter the allegiance the formed after The Battle of New York. Can Stark fix it? Is he the hero for the job? Avengers 4 should conclude with Tony Stark finally putting his demons to rest. He will serve as the inspiration for the next roster.
Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers 4’ Will Answer 10 Years Worth of Questions
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 |
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way: If you thought that the team-up of The Defenders would have any bearing on the individual character seasons of Marvel’s Netflix heroes, think again. As has been the pattern, each Defender is kept in their own sandbox until it’s time to play together, but then they are swiftly sequestered again. It can be a little disappointing, although when it comes to Jessica Jones, it’s actually a good thing. The only one of the Marvel heroes to share her first solo season (with Luke Cage), her connection to Cage was then abandoned during his origin season, and remained frosty during The Defenders. And while it’s sad in a way that this universe hasn’t sought to connect them further (yet), now Jessica (the excellent Krysten Ritter) is fully on her own. While there are a few cameos from Marvel side-characters here and there, for the most part, Jessica Jones Season 2 starts out as if The Defenders never happened. That’s just fine.
That is not to say, though, that Jessica Jones’ second season comes out of the gate as strong as it should, given how well we know the character and the major players in her life. The first episode (out of five sent for review) is clunky, both in its dialogue and its pacing (more on that in a minute). But what it does achieve is a new investigation for Jessica that keeps things personal. One of the great triumphs of the show’s first season was how we watched her deal — or not deal — with her PTSD from the abuses of Kilgrave (David Tennant), an evil she defeated in the finale. The show is certainly missing him as a driving force, but there’s still a lot for Jessica to process, going back to the death of her family as well as her abduction and torture during the illegal experiments that gave her powers. She’s a cool girl who doesn’t care, until she has to — and then she does, deeply.
Image via Netflix
The show also takes on a little bit of an X-Men vibe in Season 2. We meet another “super” (one with powers we haven’t seen on any of the shows yet, which is both weird and a relief) and then another, just as the population seems to be waking up to the fact that superheroes really do walk among us — which should have been obvious since New York City has been almost destroyed and then bombastically saved by superheroes over and over again. The denizens react as they always do in these stories, with mistrust for supers as “freaks,” and “one of them.” But if we ignore the Marvel movies and The Defenders to just stay within the context of Jessica Jones then it makes a little more sense. Kilgrave’s death made the news cycle because he had been terrorizing New York before Jessica killed him. She’s both a hero and a vigilante in that regard, and it’s that dichotomy that she struggles with in Season 2.
The season really starts to kick into gear, though, once we’re introduced to the central mystery: the truth behind IGH, the shadowy organization that performed the experiments on Jessica and others, and what its connection is to a string of recent deaths. Jessica is embroiled in several different battles, though, including against a cocky rival PI who wants to steal her clients, and in reconnecting with Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) who needs a very personal favor. And maybe it is the influence of The Defenders, but Jessica is now more willing to receive assistance both from the gun-toting and increasingly off-balance Trish (Rachael Taylor) as well as the angelic PI-in-training Malcolm (Eka Darville). It helps give the show some space from just focusing on Jessica which, as outstanding as Ritter is, it needs in order to sustain its episode count and deepen the characters around her from just being plot props.
Image via Netflix
It wouldn’t be a review of a Marvel-Netflix collaboration, though, without mentioning pace. The show is still too slow, with a minimal or non-existent score, scenes that go on for too long, and a limited number of edits that add up to everything feeling like it’s happening in real time. It’s not as bad as any other Marvel series on Netflix in this regard — not even close — but it’s still a problem, and one that has unbelievably still not been addressed in terms of episode count (or shorter runtimes within episodes).
Still, there is a lot of good here, and the season gets better and better as it goes along. The introduction of a new Big Bad works, and is exceptionally creepy (there are many aspects of Season 2 that feel like it’s leaning into horror, which is a good choice). Jessica learns “it takes a monster to stop a monster,” right alongside her own fears that she herself is turning into a killer. But what this real monster shows her is that that is not her — it’s stronger, meaner, angrier, and it holds a mirror up to how Jessica views herself in that context. It’s part of the well-considered character work that the show is so good at, especially when it comes to Jessica confronting her past through a bottle, fists, or occasionally tears. As she gets close to her building’s new superintendent and his family, though, she starts to see an alternative to the life she’s living. Not one that she’s willing to let down her guard for yet, but it’s something (in terms of character growth).
More than anything, Alias Investigations once again provide a nice noir framework for the show’s central mystery this season, one that is interesting to unravel and certainly feels more grounded than anything we’ve seen in the past with villains like The Hand. The show is also wisely taking the time to give those around Jessica more to do, while keeping everyone connected. There’s certainly room for more humor (especially for someone besides Jessica to try and wield) and the episodes could be a lot tighter, but Jessica Jones once again puts character first over super-heroics. It makes all of the difference.
Rating: ★★★★
Jessica Jones Season 2 premieres Thursday, March 8th on Netflix.
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
‘Jessica Jones’ Season 2 Review: Fighting the Monster Within
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
