First Look At Joaquin Phoenix In Midsommar Director’s New Movie Revealed

Joaquin Phoenix hasn’t been seen onscreen since winning the Academy Award for Best Actor thanks to his haunting portrayal of Arthur Fleck in Joker, which smashed all sorts of box office records to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever made.

In the aftermath of such critical and commercial success, you can guarantee he’s been fielding offers from all over Hollywood, but Phoenix has always been someone driven solely by the strength of script and character rather than money and accolades. The 46 year-old is currently shooting Disappointment Blvd., the hotly-anticipated next feature from Hereditary and Midsommar‘s Ari Aster, in which he plays a successful entrepreneur.

The first image of Phoenix on set has now been revealed, and it looks to be another transformative performance by one of the finest talents in the business, which you can check out below.

Joaquin Phoenix emerges from behind the scenes of Ari Aster's next film, Disappointment Blvd. pic.twitter.com/E5ffGG9gXv

— Letterboxd (@letterboxd) July 23, 2021

Midsommar Last Supper

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Aster is only 35 years old with just two films under his belt, but he’s already viewed as one of the most distinctive filmmaking voices of his generation, and with good reason. Hereditary and Midsommar were unique, engaging and acclaimed explorations of psychological horror, although Disappointment Blvd. could mark a change of pace.

All we know so far about the project is that it’s been described as “an intimate, decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time,” so there’s not even an indication as to which genre it could occupy, but we know better than to rule anything out when Aster is involved. Based on the strength of his previous work and the caliber of the leading man’s filmography, Disappointment Blvd. is shaping up to be one of cinema’s most intriguing mysteries as filming continues.

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Matt Damon Says He’s Down For Ocean’s 14 Whenever Steven Soderbergh’s Ready

Based on recent noises being made by a couple of the principal cast members, Ocean’s 14 is looking a lot more likely right now than it’s been at any point in the fourteen years since Danny and the crew pulled off their trilogy-closing heist in Thirteen.

If there’s one thing Stephen Soderbergh loves to do, it’s work, having been credited on sixteen projects in the last four years alone as either director, writer, editor, cinematographer or producer. The Ocean’s trio are his three most commercially successful efforts behind the camera, and the closest he’s ever come to making the jump into blockbuster territory, so if he wants to tackle a bigger project then there’s one staring him right in the face.

Don Cheadle recently revealed that the filmmaker was thinking about making it happen, and now Matt Damon has admitted that he’d be down for a return if Ocean’s 14 provided a story worth getting the band back together.

“It would always be up to Steven Soderbergh if there was a story. We have lost a couple of our members, so we would have to figure it out, we are a depleted gang now.”

Elliot Gould may have been the only member of the original cast to appear in spinoff Ocean’s 8, but Damon did film a cameo that was left on the cutting room floor, while he’s shown himself more than willing to work with Soderbergh under almost any circumstances having shown up in Che, The Informant!, Contagion, Behind the Candelabra, Unsane and recent HBO Max crime thriller No Sudden Move.

Wrangling the rest of the star studded ensemble may prove to be a much bigger challenge, though, but Ocean’s 14 could always position itself as The Avengers of heist capers by striking a balance between Danny Ocean’s band of thieves and the squad assembled by Sandra Bullock’s Debbie to deliver something that occupies the middle ground between sequel and spinoff.

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife Fans Are Wondering Where The Jokes Are In New Trailer

The latest full-length trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife dropped yesterday, and while it’s an undeniably solid promo that sets the stage nicely and features a strong balance between explaining where the mythology is at today while still tipping its hat to the original, the footage is coming under criticism from certain sections of the fanbase.

Legacy sequels are all the rage these days, and Afterlife seems to be taking that to heart more than perhaps any other hybrid of sequel and reboot in recent memory, and that’s even if we completely ignore the fact director Jason Reitman is taking over from his father Ivan behind the camera, keeping the franchise all in the family.

The trailer has visual nods, winks, a Janine cameo, a stinger teasing the return of Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman and the entire narrative appears to be hinged on the late Harold Ramis, with Egon’s family moving into his home in the middle of nowhere and discovering his past as a member of the Ghostbusters.

However, one key component of the mythos was missing entirely, and as you can see below, some fans are asking why there aren’t any jokes or humor in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

lol, remember when Ghostbusters was a comedy? https://t.co/eCtFSWSrNq

— Jamie Lovett (@JamieLovett) July 27, 2021

"Ah, now you do plan to eventually have jokes in your Ghostbusters movie, right?" pic.twitter.com/T0TUREZFgN

— Jacob deNobel (@Jacob_deNobel) July 27, 2021

Another Ghostbusters trailer where I’m very confused about this story world. Ghosts exist but no one remembers the times New York was attacked? Egon has chosen to leave his family in a world where there is a life after death? Is it a comedy or does it just have Paul Rudd?

— The Marvelous Da7⃣e Gonzales (@Da7e) July 27, 2021

ok, but is it just me or does the ghostbusters afterlife trailer seem to be taking the legacy of the original like *way to seriously*

i know i can sometimes be bad at picking up on jokes, but also the trailer gave literally no impression at all to me of even being for a comedy.

— Cdre daniel the evil pan gay (is nice rly) (@jkmurcury9) July 27, 2021

Never thought there'd be a Ghostbusters movie with no jokes. Maybe that is the joke.

— Trashcan Man Respecter (@corgzone) July 27, 2021

New Ghostbusters: Afterlife Image Reveals The New Recruits

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An artifact of the lag time of features vs. TV is that the decision to make the new Ghostbusters an Amblin-esque kids' adventure was made at the height of Stranger Things mania but now that cultural moment has mostly passed & you have people saying "Why isn't this a comedy?"

— Zack Stentz (@MuseZack) July 27, 2021

Nothing makes me think "Ghostbusters" like a trailer with a deeply reverential tone and *absolutely no jokes*.

— Stephen Geigen-Miller (@Stephen_GM) July 27, 2021

Had to double check because I couldn’t quite believe it but there are no jokes in this trailer. Ghostbusters was a comedy film where a ghost gave Dan Ackroyd such good head that he went cross-eyed

— 𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙨𝙞𝙣 (@tamsincleary) July 27, 2021

Ghostbusters Afterlife not being a full blown comedy is the best direction it could’ve gone. Otherwise all of its jokes would just be compared to the other 3 movies. However now it’s gone into a different direction while still respecting the legacy of the originals

— Ethan Beetle (@ectoeva) July 27, 2021

Of course, the movie isn’t coming to theaters until November, so we’re guaranteed at least one more trailer that could paint an entirely different sort of picture. The cast and crew will be fully aware that Ghostbusters was defined by its rich vein of humor just as much as the set pieces, and it’s still regarded as one of the most beloved studio comedies ever made. Ghostbusters: Afterlife has opted for a self-serious and somber tone for now, then, but we’ll see if that ends up being reflective of the finished product.

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First Look At Benedict Cumberbatch’s New Netflix Drama Revealed

After the back-to-back shoot for Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Benedict Cumberbatch scaled back his onscreen output for a couple of years, with a brief supporting role in Sam Mendes’ acclaimed World War I drama 1917 and Zach Galifinakis’ Between Two Ferns: The Movie his only credits in the span of two years.

However, the actor is back with a vengeance, and you can barely turn around without bumping into a new Cumberbatch project. Historical thriller The Courier hit theaters in March of this year, right around the same time true-life legal tale The Mauritanian was playing.

He then threw on the Cloak of Levitation for a double dose of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by headlining Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and lending an assist to Tom Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and that’s without even mentioning biopic The Electrical Life of Louis Wain or Netflix’s The Power of the Dog.

The latter is a literary adaptation directed by The Piano and Top of the Lake‘s Jane Campion, with a stacked supporting cast in place. The first image from The Power of the Dog has been revealed, and you can check it out below.

First Image Revealed From Benedict Cumberbatch Netflix Drama The Power Of The Dog

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The film follows a rancher in 1920s Montana, who becomes infuriated after his brother comes to live on the property with her new husband following the death of her first spouse, where tragedy and drama naturally ensues. Cumberbatch is joined by Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie and more, and while there’s no locked in release date for The Power of the Dog as of yet, it’s expected to hit Netflix before the end of the year, and could be the streamer’s latest potential awards season contender.

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Space Jam: A New Legacy Star Wants To Be The MCU’s Miles Morales

It’s a matter of when and not if Miles Morales makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, with Kevin Feige admitting years ago that the fan favorite iteration of Spider-Man exists out there somewhere after Donald Glover’s Aaron Davis referenced his nephew in Homecoming, which pricked up the ears of comic book enthusiasts everywhere.

Tom Holland has hardly been shy in making it known that he’d love to see his Peter Parker share the screen with Miles, and even though the actor is planning to stick around as the MCU’s web-slinger for a long time to come, the constant rumors swirling around December’s No Way Home would indicate that there’s more than enough room in the franchise for more than one friendly neighborhood superhero.

In a new interview, Space Jam: A New Legacy star Cedric Joe, who plays LeBron James’ fictional son Dom in the divisive Warner Bros. blockbuster, revealed that he’d love to stick around the big budget effects-driven sandbox for a while yet, and named Miles as a character he’d love to play.

“The Marvel franchise is something I’ve always wanted to be a part of. And you know, they haven’t really made a Miles Morales Spider-Man film yet. So there’s still a possibility.”

Spider-Man: Miles Morales Review

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If Marvel Studios can draw inspiration from Sony’s animated Into the Spider-Verse to bring multiple Spideys into live-action, then there’s no real reason why they couldn’t repeat the trick by positioning Miles Morales as the star of his own series. It’s been heavily touted dating back years that he’ll be showing up in the movies eventually, but it still feels as though it may be a long way away yet.

When it does become official, then every young actor in Hollywood that fits the bill will be queuing up for an audition, and Joe’s experience working against a green screen could give him an edge.

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Idris Elba May’ve Just Teased An MCU Return As Heimdall

For the most part, death means absolutely nothing in the world of comic books and their respective blockbuster adaptations, and that’s especially true now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced the concept of alternate realities into the mix, and the DCEU will follow suit next year when The Flash speeds into theaters.

One actor more than familiar with both of Hollywood’s marquee superhero franchises is Idris Elba, who made five appearances as Heimdall in the initial Thor trilogy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Infinity War, before meeting his demise at the hands of Thanos. Now, he’s joined James Gunn in heading across town to play Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad, although there are no guarantees the actor is going to make it to the end credits.

In a new interview, Elba was asked about whether or not he’s now exclusively a DCEU star, and the 48 year-old made a point of emphasizing the word “seemingly” when discussing Heimdall’s death.

“I think that I’m excited about the possibilities in the DC world. And I think the word of choice to make note of is the word ‘seemingly’.”

Chris Hemsworth Celebrates Thor: Love And Thunder Wrapping With Jacked BTS Photo

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Of course, talk of a comeback shouldn’t come as much surprise when he was spotted hanging out with Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi when the Odinson’s fourth solo outing was in the midst of production, and it can’t have been a coincidence that one of the franchise’s former stars was in the same country as the shoot, especially in the middle of a pandemic when Australia’s border controls are tighter than ever before.

Russell Crowe, Matt Damon and Jeff Goldblum were all seen with Waititi and Chris Hemsworth before they’d been confirmed for roles in Love and Thunder, so either Idris Elba is the sole outlier among the group, or we’ll be seeing Heimdall again next summer.

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Dwayne Johnson Explains What Happened To Tom Hanks’ Version Of Jungle Cruise

Disney’s latest blockbuster adaptation of an iconic theme park attraction arrives this Friday way behind schedule, with Jungle Cruise originally wrapping production in September 2018, and an October 2019 release date was staked out long before the Coronavirus pandemic came along. The big budget adventure was initially pushed to July 2020, but it’s finally coming to theaters and Disney Plus Premier Access in just a couple of days.

However, that’s nothing compared to how long the project spent stuck in development hell. Dwayne Johnson may have first become attached to Jungle Cruise in the summer of 2015, but it had already been in the works for over a decade at that point, having first been given the green light shortly after the unexpected success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

While the early 20th Century setting has remained intact throughout Jungle Cruise‘s existence, the lead pairing could have been completely different. Johnson and Emily Blunt are receiving widespread praise for their crackling chemistry, but Toy Story duo Tom Hanks and Tim Allen were originally announced as the two stars. In a new interview, The Rock explained that the version he’s headlining and producing was rebuilt from the ground up.

I just think in the world of Hollywood, as you know, things get developed and there’s an energy and fervor behind it and then something happens and somebody drops out and it just goes away. But also, everything happens in the way it should happen and by the time it got to me it was a complete rewrite from page one.

Pixar’s classic animated franchise showed that Hanks and Allen make for a fantastic bickering duo, and it would have been fun to see them carry that baggage into the live-action realm. As it stands, though, Jungle Cruise is gaining solid reviews out of the gate having been labeled as one of the summer’s best surprises that offers a winning blend between Pirates of the Caribbean, 1999’s The Mummy and Romancing the Stone, so it all appears to have worked out pretty well in the end.

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Predator Producer Says The Reboot Is As Good As The Original

When you think of the most iconic sci-fi properties in Hollywood, three of the first candidates that come to mind are Alien, Predator and Terminator. While they share plenty of similarities and just as many differences, the Xenomorphs and the T-800 have one notable distinction over their contemporary.

Nobody is going to argue that John McTiernan’s 1987 original is the best Predator movie ever made, a rollicking ride of machismo, violence, action and iconic one-liners. Looking at the other two, though, arguments continue to rage to this day whether the first or second installments in the respective franchises can be deemed superior, with Aliens every bit the equal of Ridley Scott’s opener, while Judgement Day is like the first Terminator on steroids.

Even though we’ve seen Predator 2, Predators, a pair of Alien vs. Predator crossovers and The Predator, none of them can hold a candle to the adventures of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his crack military unit. Producer John Davis clearly knows this, and when talking about Dan Trachtenberg’s prequel that’s been officially titled Skull, he didn’t even try to hype it as the best installment ever, but did say it was as good as McTiernan’s contribution to the mythology.

“It’s going to be, I believe, the second best, or the first, or it may be equal to the first one. Right? I feel like the first one was a wonderful, interesting movie and I know what worked about it. I feel like we kind of never got back there again. We ended up in different places. I think this is a worthy complement to the first one. It’s going to be as good.”

Scary New Photo From The Predator Spotlights The Yautja

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Having been burned by the franchise several times before, although Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal’s Predators definitely deserved the sequel it never got, a period-set origin story for the intergalactic trophy hunters is about as novel a concept as we could hope to see. A stripped-down, back to basics approach might be exactly what Predator has been crying out for, offering a balancing act between fresh start, origin story and gripping survival thriller, all lashed with violent sci-fi trappings.

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Hugh Jackman Uses Free Guy Director To Troll Ryan Reynolds

The online war between Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds shows no signs of slowing down, even if the latter recently revealed that part of the reason he can’t stop blasting his longtime arch-nemesis is because he’s such an infuriatingly nice, wholesome and all-round good guy.

Jackman’s barbs tend to be less sardonic and snarky than those of his opposite number, which is entirely in keeping with both their on and offscreen personas. Things have now gotten even more personal, though, after the former Wolverine roped in Free Guy director Shawn Levy to take a shot at Reynolds, which you can see below.

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A post shared by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman)

Hugh Jackman Poses In Front Of Ryan Reynolds Poster

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Jackman and Levy are no strangers to each other, having worked together a decade ago on Real Steel, the underrated robot boxing family film that recently experienced an incredible resurgence on Netflix. After wrapping Free Guy a long time ago and then almost immediately re-teaming for Netflix’s time travel adventure The Adam Project, Reynolds is no doubt going to retaliate and put the filmmaker right in the middle of their latest sparring match.

The good news for audiences and fans of both A-listers is that they’ve each got a new movie coming out very soon. After a lengthy wait, Free Guy is coming to theaters on August 13th, with the early reactions calling the video game-inspired action comedy one of the summer’s most pleasant surprises.

As for Jackman, he’ll be seen in sci-fi mystery Reminiscence, the feature directorial debut of Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy, the next major hybrid release from Warner Bros. that lands on HBO Max and the big screen just one week after Free Guy, so maybe box office returns will be the next bone of contention between the two.

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