Latest news with #FantasticFour
Digital Trends
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
5 great Pedro Pascal movies to stream
Few actors have had a run quite like the one that Pedro Pascal is on right now. The actor, who rose to fame on Game of Thrones and has since become a dominant presence in both film and television, is starring in three movies this summer, including Fantastic Four: First Steps, Materialists, and Eddington. He's also coming off of the second season of The Last of Us, which means you've had just an insane number of opportunities to watch him on screen. If you're hungry for more, though, we've got you covered with five older movies from Pascal that are all available to stream now: Gladiator II (2024) Although Pascal is not the lead of Gladiator II, he plays a central role in the film as a Roman general who is secretly working to take down the corrupt emperors that he publicly serves. Here, Pascal gets a chance to play an upright hero, and it's a part he fills well. Recommended Videos He's a perfect counterpoint to Paul Mescal's more selfish Lucius, who spends most of the movie convinced that he's after personal vengeance. Although it can't live up to the original, Gladiator II is boosted by Pascal's presence. You can watch Gladiator II on Paramount Plus. The Wild Robot (2023) If there's a running theme on this list, Pascal is always more than willing to play second fiddle. Here, he's doing it in a vocal performance, playing the closest animal companion of the titular robot, a conniving fox who ultimately partners with her to raise a runty goose. The Wild Robot is Lupita Nyong'o's show, but Pascal is both funny and moving as a fox who keeps having to convince himself that he doesn't actually care about anything besides himself. You can watch The Wild Robot on Netflix. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) There's a little too much going on in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, but every scene that Pascal and Nicolas Cage share together is golden. The film follows Cage as he's recruited to infiltrate the compound of one of his biggest fans, who also happens to be the head of a criminal empire. Pascal plays the head of that empire and spends most of the movie telling Cage how much he loves his movies. It's a hilarious, utterly winning performance that has to be charming enough to convince Cage that this guy might not be so bad after all. You can watch The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent on Amazon Prime Video. Triple Frontier (2019) One of the great dudes-rock movies of the past decade, Triple Frontier tells the story of a group of former special operations operatives who reunite to plan a master heist after finding that their home lives are at a dead end. As they undertake the mission, things don't go according to plan, leading to predictably terrible results. Pascal is just one member of a crew that also includes Oscar Isaac and Ben Affleck, but he stands out as an actor with an incredible amount of natural presence. You can watch Triple Frontier on Netflix. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Pascal only has a single scene in Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk, but it's one of the best scenes in an incredible movie. The movie focuses on a Black woman who is dealing with the aftermath of her partner's arrest even while preparing for the arrival of their first child. Pascal shares his scene with Regina King, who plays the main character's mother. As she goes to him to plead for help for her son-in-law, they share an intimate, heartbreaking exchange that reveals the depths to which Pascal can go, even with limited screen time. You can watch If Beale Street Could Talk on Plex.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marvel's big reset: Mahershala Ali's ‘Blade,' recasting ‘X-Men' and Tony Stark, and why Miles Morales is MIA in the MCU
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige offered a rare glimpse into the MCU's evolving strategy, addressing fan concerns and teasing what lies ahead for Marvel's iconic franchises. In a lengthy discussion with journalists ahead of Fantastic Four: First Steps, Feige reflected on the studio's recent struggles with oversaturation, outlined steps being taken to refocus the MCU, and revealed tantalizing updates on several high-profile projects. 'It's traditionally a five-year plan,' he said. 'I think it goes to 2032 right now.' Here are the biggest takeaways: More from Gold Derby 'Greatest spoof of all time': When 'The Golden Girls' took aim at 'Clueless' at the MTV Movie Awards 'Superman' crushes 'Smurfs' and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' as Warner Bros. extends box-office hot streak Mahershala Ali's still slicing forward Fans have been eagerly anticipating Mahershala Ali's debut as the iconic vampire slayer in Blade, but Feige admitted the production has faced multiple setbacks. Initially announced in 2019, the project stalled due to script challenges and changes in directors. (Wesley Snipes reprised his version of Blade in last year's Deadpool & Wolverine.) Feige confirmed that retooled Blade would now set in the modern day and emphasized Marvel's commitment to delivering an 'insanely great' film rather than rushing a subpar version. While no director is currently attached, Ali remains enthusiastic, telling Variety recently, 'I'm ready. Let them know I'm ready.' Despite delays, Blade remains a priority as Marvel refocuses its creative process. Legacy characters like Tony Stark and X-Men mutants will be recast Feige confirmed that following Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, Marvel plans to introduce fresh faces for legacy characters like the X-Men and, eventually, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. While the iconic Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will reprise mutant roles in Avengers: Doomsday, the upcoming X-Men films directed by Jake Schreier will feature an all-new cast. Similarly, Feige likened recasting Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark to other franchises, saying, 'It's hard … but how are they going to ever replace Sean Connery [as James Bond], right?' These recasting decisions align with Secret Wars resetting the MCU's timeline to create new beginnings for future storytelling. Miles Morales won't be joining the MCU anytime soon Despite intense fan demand for a live-action Miles Morales, Feige revealed that Marvel has been asked to 'stay away' from the character pending the completion of Sony's Spider-Verse animated trilogy. With Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse slated for 2027, any live-action integration of Miles into the MCU will be delayed until after Sony concludes its cartoon plans. While disappointing for fans, Feige indicated Marvel's respect for Sony's storytelling autonomy and a willingness to wait for the right moment. While insisting diversity is still important, Feige stated, 'Marvel represents the world outside your window. I've always said it, before DEI and woke became a thing, and after DEI and woke became a thing — are we after? I don't think so.' He pointed to Ms. Marvel and The Marvels star Iman Vellani as 'one of the greatest bits of casting we've ever done,' adding, 'I can't wait to see her somewhere.' Doctor Doom overthrows Kang as MCU's next big villain Jonathan Majors' legal troubles and lukewarm audience reception to his Kang the Conqueror in the underwhelming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania prompted Marvel to pivot toward Doctor Doom as its new central villain. Feige hyped up Downey's portrayal of Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, saying the actor is tapping into Doom's decades-long comic legacy as an undeniable powerhouse. Feige insisted the decision wasn't solely reactionary, stating that Marvel realized Kang lacked the weight of a universe-defining antagonistic presence even before events affecting Majors unfolded. Marvel moves overseas for big productions Feige addressed why the massive Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars productions are relocating overseas to London's Pinewood Studios rather than staying in conventional U.S. hubs (most of the MCU productions had been at Trilith Studios, former Pinewood Atlanta). While generous U.K. subsidies play a role in the move, the decision ultimately comes down to securing stage space amid Hollywood's broad production pressures. While Feige predicted future films would again lean toward U.S.-based production hubs, such as Atlanta and New York, this shift underscores the industry-wide trend of productions running away from Hollywood. Scaling back for quality: Less TV and fewer films Feige openly acknowledged that Marvel's doubling of content since Avengers: Endgame created a problem of "quantity trumping quality." As a solution, the studio plans to streamline production, limiting feature films to three annually and scaling back TV shows to just one live-action series per year. In a notable shift, Marvel TV will return to standalone storytelling, disallowing crossover pressure that requires viewers to follow every project just to stay caught up. It's part of Marvel's effort to make its offerings less intimidating and accessible to casual fans. As Marvel resets its towering franchise, which has earned more than $31 billion worldwide, Feige appears optimistic about returning the MCU to its roots of bold storytelling. By prioritizing focused projects, reducing financial pressure, and leaning into accessibility without alienating diverse characters, Marvel may yet find its footing — and audiences may rediscover their love for its stories. Best of Gold Derby Everything to know about 'The Batman 2': Returning cast, script finalized Tom Cruise movies: 17 greatest films ranked worst to best 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') Click here to read the full article. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Whiteboard warrior: Marvel is priming Mister Fantastic to be the new leader of the Avengers
The Avengers need a new leader, and given how many potential candidates for the gig have either died, retired, or turned evil, they need it soon. The multiverse is collapsing, timelines are unravelling, box office numbers are wobbling, the Kang plan is in tatters and Blade is on its ninth script. So, naturally, Marvel's answer is to hand the reins to a stretchy man in sensible shoes who once broke the entire multiverse. Yes, according to The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman, the awesome foursome's Reed Richards is being lined up as the new leader of Earth's mightiest heroes. Or at least, he is (at times) in the comics, and it looks increasingly like he might be the only reality-straddling, buttoned up polymathable to take on this job on the big screen. 'He goes from being the nerdy scientist who's locked away in the lab, to the husband and the father who'd do anything to protect his family, to the guy who's leading the Avengers,' Shakman told Variety, in a new interview ahead of the release of First Steps. 'I realised that the version we were building had to have all of those elements.' With the Fantastic Four's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now only a week away, it's perhaps the right time to take a look at exactly what kind of man Marvel might be nudging into the empty chair. Let's not forget that this is a mantle once sort of jointly held by Iron Man and Captain America. Reed Richards, by contrast, is less a natural leader than he is the kind of man who accidentally invents godhood before breakfast. In the comics, he's a genius, a father, a sometimes war criminal, and very occasionally the most powerful being in existence. If Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark was all ego, charisma and self-loathing in a can, and Chris Evans's Steve Rogers was apple pie and emotional repression with the ability to bench-press liberty, then Reed is the guy who treats collapsing timelines like a crossword puzzle and has, on more than one occasion in the comics, tried to solve galactic crises using charts. Perhaps the difference this time around (after two attempts to bring the Fantastic Four to the big screen during the 20th Century Fox era) is that Richards is now being played by Pedro Pascal, an actor who has already proven in The Mandalorian that he can project warmth, gravitas and reluctant-dad energy despite wearing a bucket on his head. If anyone can revive Marvel, it's the guy who transformed what should have been another run-of-the-mill zombie video game adaptation (The Last of Us) into high-end post-apocalyptic art-house TV. Giving Reed Richards the top job also speaks volumes about where the MCU is right now. Gone are the days of heroes with moral codes, defined character arcs, and just one version of themselves per universe. We're deep into the age of collapse and crossover, where no one knows who's running what, where half the audience are Googling 'Wait, who is that?' during every post-credits scene, and the only thing holding the multiverse together is the vague promise that Downey's Doctor Doom will eventually reboot the franchise with the sheer force of his contempt. All of which brings us to hints this week (denied by Shakman) that the metal-plated menace might make his first appearance in First Steps, before presumably following Marvel's first family into the main MCU in next year's Avengers: Doomsday. If Reed is Marvel's reset button, Doom is its nuclear option — the character you deploy when you've run out of timelines, villains, and narrative excuses. The idea of Reed going up against a twisted variant of the previous Avengers figurehead – if this new Doom really is some kind of alternate-universe Tony Stark with a god complex and a cloak budget – has a certain multiverse-bending symmetry to it. So why not have Reed face him down as a new type of Avengers leader? They might just be from the same universe, and this is a battle that has been carried out countless times in print. Mister Fantastic is brilliant. He's brave. And he's got a pretty impressive track record of saving all of existence – which could come in useful when you're facing the sort of supervillain who treats the fabric of existence like a mood board for his ego. Unlike Stark or Rogers, Reed doesn't need a cool catchphrase, or a billion-dollar suit with built-in sarcasm. He just needs a quiet room, a few hundred monitors, and the freedom to quietly map the collapse of the multiverse.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's new crime thriller just became one of my most anticipated movies of the summer — and you need to watch the gripping trailer now
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. This summer is set to be a big one for Vanessa Kirby. She's due on the big screen next week as part of Marvel's new 'Fantastic Four' reboot, and then just a few weeks later, she's headlining a buzzy new crime thriller movie on Netflix. Premiering on the world's most popular streaming service on August 15, the film in question is called 'Night Always Comes.' The movie is described as 'a propulsive odyssey of survival' by Netflix, and now that we have a trailer, it's very quickly become one of my most anticipated new releases of the summer. The trailer is a mere two minutes long, but it gives us a pretty detailed look at the movie, and let's just say it's got me adding the movie to my watchlist almost a month ahead of time. That's the hallmark of a very good trailer. We see Kirby playing Lynette, a desperate but resourceful woman given a single night to scrounge up $25,000 to keep her family from being evicted, and her entire world falling apart. With the clock ticking, Lynette is forced to go to extreme lengths to get the money needed to secure her future. Based on Willy Vlautin's 2021 novel of the same name, and directed by Benjamin Caron, 'Night Always Comes' also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zack Gottsagen, Stephan James, Julia Fox, Eli Roth, Randall Park and Michael Kelly. I'm especially excited to see Gottsagen appear in the cast list after his excellent performance in 2019's 'The Peanut Butter Falcon.' 'Night Always Comes' on Netflix — here's everything you need to know Alongside this intense first trailer, Netflix has also released a Tudum blog post giving us more details about the upcoming crime thriller movie. This includes an official logline: "'Night Always Comes' follows Lynette (Kirby), a woman who risks everything to secure the house that represents a future for her family. On a dangerous odyssey through a single night, Lynette is forced to confront her dark past in order to finally break free.' The Netflix original flick has been written by Sarah Conradt, who penned last year's underrated thriller 'Mothers' Instinct' starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, and it represents a reunion for Kirby and Caron, who previously collaborated on the popular 'The Crown' series. 'What drew me to the film was its exploration of survival and sacrifice and the idea of quiet heroism,' said Caron. 'It asks the question, 'Who gets to feel safe, and at what cost?'' Filmed and set in Portland, Oregon, the movie takes place over a single night, which should give the thriller a real sense of momentum and add to the intensity as the clock is always ticking. Plus, Kirby received an Oscar nomination for her last Netflix project, 'Pieces of a Woman,' and is also producing in this one, so I'm pretty confident in the final result. On Kirby's performance, Caron said, 'Vanessa brings a beautifully wild energy to Lynette, making the character unpredictable and deeply, deeply human. Together, we worked on creating a character who is simply not just reacting to the world, but desperately trying to wrest control of her future, even as she teeters on the edge of self-destruction.' Between its hooky premise, best-selling source material, and strong cast list, it definitely seems like 'Night Always Comes' has all the ingredients to be a Netflix hit next month, and it could be the streaming service's best shot this year of picking up some major award nominations. As noted, 'Night Always Comes' arrives on Netflix on August 15, and I'm ready to add it to my watchlist right now. If the basic setup doesn't sell you on this movie, then the gripping new trailer is sure to tip you over the edge. I've got a feeling this one could be among Netflix's best originals of the year. More from Tom's Guide Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. New on Netflix in July 2025 Netflix is losing this Adam Sandler comedy at the worst time Netflix top 10 shows — here's the 3 worth watching
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Kevin Feige reveals Punisher's key role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has officially confirmed the next chapter of Tom Holland's Spider-Man saga: Spider-Man: Brand New Day, arriving in theaters July 31, 2026. During a roundtable interview for Fantastic Four, Feige revealed that this new film will take a grounded, street-level approach, introducing Jon Bernthal's Punisher into Peter Parker's world. 'This is the beginning of a proper Spider-Man era,' Feige explained. 'Peter is now alone, forgotten, and focused solely on saving New York — a scrappy loner with great power and even greater guilt.' The film picks up after Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Peter Parker erased from the lives of MJ and Ned and settling into a new life of anonymity, reminiscent of classic comic portrayals. Feige emphasized the opportunity to now explore street-level characters, calling attention to The Punisher's comic book origins tied directly to Spider-Man. 'I love that The Punisher started in a Spider-Man comic,' he said, teasing the character's prominent role in the film. Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) is already deep into pre-production, drawing inspiration from iconic comic covers, many of which are pinned in his art department. Brand New Day takes its title from the controversial 2008 comic arc where Peter starts fresh after erasing his marriage and identity. While a Mephisto appearance isn't confirmed, Feige notes that the film will explore the emotional and moral consequences of Peter's solitude and dedication to justice. With production beginning soon in Scotland, fans can expect a more personal, grounded Spider-Man story — a sharp contrast from the multiverse chaos of recent entries.
