‘The Mandalorian’ Shines With Surprising Season 2 Finale

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

[Ed note: This post contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Mandalorian, including MASSIVE SPOILERS for today’s finale— "Chapter 16: The Rescue"—do not read any further unless you want it all ruined for you! Don’t say we didn’t warn you.]

A legendary Star Wars character once said, “Never tell me the odds.” It’s advice I should have taken into consideration ahead of The Mandalorian’s first season. The Disney+ streaming show seemed to be carrying a tremendous burden with its debut. It had to launch a brand new platform for the House of Mouse and chart a new story outside the Skywalker films. The first season succeeded by focusing on an inherently paternal relationship between The Child aka Baby Yoda aka Grogu, and the show’s titular Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), set against Western-style tropes. The show’s small-scale focus — it’s not about saving the galaxy, it’s about saving a child—allowed Star Wars to feel big again. 

As information about the show’s sophomore season started to trickle out, there was a concern about The Mandalorian trying to do too much. The introduction of beloved Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated characters like Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), not to mention the re-introduction of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), seemed poised to tip the scales of the show’s established formula. Would The Mandalorian be able to sustain its "adventure of the week"-style episodes if Mando himself had to play second fiddle to Boba Fett or a Jedi? It turns out the series is more than capable of balancing these tales while also functioning as a bridge between the past, present, and future of Star Wars storytelling.

The Mandalorian has allowed showrunner Jon Favreau and co-executive producer Dave Filoni to pull together so many disparate threads in a coherent, meaningful, and surprising way. How do you incorporate Bo-Katan? Well, as the once ruler of Mandalore and a former member of Death Watch (Mando’s radical clan), she and Mando have a shared history, albeit from widely different points of view. How does Ahsoka make a live-action debut? You have her be the one to introduce the ideas of the Jedi to Mando as he seeks to reunite Grogu with his kind. How do we justify Boba’s return? Finally show audiences why he’s such a badass bounty hunter and then put him in a position to help Mando. How do we appease fans of discarded canon? Bring, where it makes sense, elements like the Dark Troopers back into the fold to terrorize Grogu in a meaningful way. Hell, The Mandalorian even provides answers to questions we didn’t know we’d ever get the resolution to, like how did Palpatine come back to life in The Rise of Skywalker? Turns out Grogu is rich enough in the Force that the pre-First Order could harvest his blood to serve as the foundation for the Emperor’s return. Each of these decisions works because The Mandalorian still focuses on the core Grogu and Mando relationship. Cameos don’t overwhelm character.

Yet, the conclusion of Chapter 16, “The Rescue," threatens to disturb the show’s established balance. Just as it looks like Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) may have the upper hand against Mando and his assembled team of Bo-Katan, Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado aka Sasha Banks), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), none other than Luke Skywalker shows up to save the day. Another series might have drawn out Mando and Grogu’s inevitable reunion with a Jedi to continue to capitalize on a good thing. The Mandalorian realizes that the emotional pay-off of breaking up that relationship—for now at least—just makes for deeply compelling storytelling.

Luke Skywalker’s role in fracturing this connection is already dividing fans. I fully realize a large part of The Mandalorian’s appeal lies within how divorced it was from the Skywalkers. But even as you go through the list of other Jedi who could have appeared, it now makes sense for it to have only ever been Luke. Star Wars Rebel Jedi Ezra Bridger’s journey will happen in its own spin-off, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s Cal Kestis will (for now at least) only exist in videogame form. More than this, however, those names don’t have the same impact as Luke. By including the character, Favreau and director Peyton Reed are leveraging fan service, sure, but doing so in a more meaningful way. Luke’s inclusion is inherently playing with the audience’s familiarity to sell a more emotionally resonant ending. If you’re going to rip out your audience’s heart by separating Grogu and Mando, Luke has to be the one. Furthermore, it allows Luke’s post-Return of the Jedi legend to grow.

The choice to conclude this particular part of The Mandalorian’s story once again means the show can be whatever it wants. While the Marvel-esque post-credits sequence made me excitedly believe the show was turning into an anthology, Variety confirmed the Book of Boba show would be another spin-off series. Favreau, Filoni, and LucasFilm know they have too much of a good thing with Grogu and Mando to keep the two apart for long. How and when it happens is up to them. But if this season of The Mandalorian proved anything, it’s that we shouldn’t underestimate its power and potential, as its future remains as bright, bold, and exciting as ever.

The Action Is the Juice: Ranking the Heat Homages

This article originally appeared on GQ.com

When Michael Mann’s Heat arrived in the waning days of 1995, audiences came for a showdown between two acting titans and walked away having watched a reinvention of the heist genre. Bigger, more sprawling, and more ambitious than the competition, Heat layered multiple subplots and fringe characters into its tale of a master thief hunted at every turn by a cop who’s just as obsessive as he is—a trope that has since become a staple of the genre.

Mann’s masterwork is known for its incredible action sequences and masterful performances from Robert de Niro and Al Pacino, who appeared on screen together for the first time. The two play opposite sides of the coin: de Niro’s Neil McCauley is a cold and calculated career criminal devoted to his craft above all else, while Pacino’s Lt. Vincent Hanna’s fixation on police work has left a trail of failed relationships in his wake. Naturally, both men respect the hell out of each other.

With its deep cast and story boiled down from Mann’s script for an aborted TV series, Heat quickly entered the pantheon of crime films as well as Los Angeles epics. While there are certain films whose directors have stated outright they were influenced by Heat, other choices on this list are more subtle in how they reference or subvert Mann’s work. So grab your rival and square up over a cup of coffee as we dive into the best Heat-like movies since Heat.

9. Takers. If there’s one worthwhile takeaway from Takers it’s that T.I. absolutely gives good villain. With his trademark flair for high-value thesaurus words and an almost reptilian energy, Tip is charming in the way the best bad guys should be. Unfortunately, the film around him isn’t quite as captivating. There’s an eight-figure armored truck heist that grinds the city to a violent halt, a crew of rogues that gets betrayed by one of their own, and a dogged cop on their trail. But it’s a strange state of affairs when T.I. is the best actor in a cast that includes Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Zoe Saldana, Paul Walker and Hayden Christensen (OK, that one’s not a surprise), all of whom spend most of the film’s many face-offs and action sequences sleepwalking. That’s likely because the script gives them little reason to tap in—Takers is about as paint-by-numbers as heist movies get.

8. Triple 9. The line between heroes and villains blurs together in John Hillcoat’s 2016 robbery movie Triple 9. Led by an all-star cast of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Clifton Collins Jr, Norman Reedus, Aaron Paul, Casey Affleck, Gal Gadot, Woody Harrelson, and an unrecognizable Kate Winslet, the film’s ensemble aims to outdo Heat just by stacking the deck with sheer talent. The hook involves a group of crooked police and career criminals pulling off a heist in Atlanta by killing a fellow cop — the titular 999 is code for “officer down” — and hoping their comrades will be distracted long enough to finish the job. The same overwhelming masculinity at the core of Heat is front and center of Triple 9, but your mileage may vary on whether it's done with a knowing wink or far too self-serious— critics were decidedly mixed.

7. Grand Theft Auto V. Yes, Grand Theft Auto V is a videogame. But Rockstar’s totemic masterpiece is deeply cinematic, and the fifth edition wears its Heat influences on its sleeve. Aside from the general premise of driving around LA committing crimes and encountering weird people, protagonist Michael De Santa looks and dresses eerily like McCauley and the game pulls from Heat directly for one of its playable heists. It’s not the first time the GTA series has drawn from movies, but it might be the most blatant.

6. Baby Driver. When director Edgar Wright couldn’t film his 2017 action-movie-musical in Los Angeles, he reworked his script to focus more on Atlanta in a way that’s just as effective as the work Mann did. While Baby Driver has more in common with Walter Hill’s The Driver, there’s elements of Heat there, too (“Heat, obviously, is like the grand-daddy of heist movies,” Wright told CinemaBlend). Of course, there’s an armored truck and bank robbery, a tense diner conversation with opposing players sizing one another up, a getaway with a love interest, and even a play on the famous “the action is the juice.” While Wright is never shy about wearing his influences on his sleeve, Baby Driver’s strength sits in how it literally sings its own song—it’s the closest thing Wright has done to a musical in his career so far.

5. The Town. The Town charts a lot of the same beats as Heat: An intense heist goes awry, a hot-headed crew member stirs dissension in the ranks, dogged law enforcement hunts the thieves at every corner. Yet, this Ben Affleck-directed and written feature ultimately falls short of capturing the true spirit of Mann’s film. Sure, Affleck’s eye for action is impressive, and the claustrophobia of Charlestown, Massachusetts makes for an inspired swap from the sprawl of Los Angeles. But none of the central relationships in The Town come close to the complexity at the core of McCauley and Hanna’s relationship. Instead of standing apart from Heat, The Town feels stuck in its shadow.

4. Den of Thieves. You have to admire the bold way in which 2018’s Den of Thieves just fully commits to stealing from Heat at every single turn. The first hour or so is almost a beat-for-beat remake of Mann’s thriller: A botched armored truck robbery, an unhinged Los Angeles Sheriff's (the genuinely fantastic Gerald Butler), a methodical ex-con (Pablo Schreiber) prepping his crew for one last score — on and on the parallels continue, almost to the point of parody. That’s best illustrated by the way director Christian Gudegast puts Butler’s Big Nick and Schreiber’s Merrimen in spaces together not once, not twice, but five times throughout the movie, each more absurd than the last. The back half of the film climaxes in a legitimately tense sequence that evokes the masterwork of Sicario’s bridge scene, only to be undercut by a truly silly twist ending. Also, no amount of movie magic can make Atlanta convincingly double for Los Angeles.

3. The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan has been pretty straightforward about how Heat influenced The Dark Knight, telling IGN in a 2007 interview that Mann’s epic “was sort of an inspiration” as it related to telling a “very large, city story or the story of a city.” We disagree on the “sort of” part of Nolan’s quote; when you go so far as to cast William Fichtner and stage shots in an eerily similar way, the line between tribute and rip-off begins to blur. Nolan’s superhero masterpiece draws from Mann in its icy cinematography, the protagonists’ all-consuming quest for justice, and a showdown between competing ideologies. Hell, there’s even a famous face off over a shared table.

2. Out of Sight. There are no epic shootouts filmed with military precision in Out of Sight, but bear with me. The respect McCauley and Hanna have for one another even as they work at cross-purposes is one of Heat’s most rewarding features. That relationship is inverted into a bad romance in Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight. Charming thief Jack Foley (George Clooney) and determined U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) can’t help but be drawn to one another, despite their conflicting career choices. The hotel bar sequence in Sight mirrors Heat’s sit down in so many ways; a shared conversation over drinks, a time-out before shit completely hits the fan. In these quiet moments, the crime fades away and the obsessive intimacy at the core of both films into clear focus.

1. Widows. Widows feels like the spiritual successor to Heat because of its scope. Working off a script he co-wrote with Gillian Flynn, director Steve McQueen is intensely focused on more than just the action, using the trappings of a pulpy genre film to explore race, class, politics, and gender relations in Chicago. Just as Mann’s script allowed Pacino and de Niro to put on an acting masterclass, Viola Davis, in particular, finds a perfect balance between laser-sharp determination and cascading amounts of grief. The same can be said for Daniel Kaluuya’s Jatemme; his magnetic performance as a Terminator-like enforcer is far more dangerous and scary than anyone in McCauley’s crew. Widows knows a flashy heist doesn’t mean anything if you don’t care about the characters caught in the crossfire.

Every Marvel Announcement From Disney's Investor Day 2020

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Not content with the full slate of movies and Disney+ series they announced back in 2019, Marvel Studios took the (virtual) stage during Disney’s Investors Day to detail a lot more about the MCU’s future. While 2020 didn’t offer a single bit of new MCU content (thanks, COVID), Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige was quick to remind the public that there’s more coming very soon. And if that wasn’t enough, he brought a ton of shocking new information with him as well.

With added details to existing projects and shocking, brand new projects unveiled, the MCU’s future only looks to be bigger and bolder than what’s come before. To help you make sense of it all, we’ve dived deep into the news while also providing some comic book-based context about what fans can expect from these projects. Here’s everything you need to know about the future of Marvel.

'WandaVision'

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Teyonah Parris, Kat Dennings, Randall Park, Kathryn Hahn
Release date: Jan. 15, 2021

Fresh out of the gate was a brand new trailer for WandaVision, which featured the most direct confirmation that the reality of the world Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are inhabiting appear to exist entirely in space Wanda has created herself. The show will switch between different sitcom tropes as it progresses, while the outside world—including Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo and Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis—work to try and get through to Wanda.

'Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez
Release date: March 25, 2022

As was confirmed at Comic-Con in 2019, Wanda will appear in the Sam Raimi-directed Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. The horror-action film will bring back original stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Xochitl Gomez will star as America Chavez, better known as Miss America, Marvel’s premiere Latin-America and LGBTQ character. In addition to flight and super-strength, America can travel through dimensions, which will come in handy for a multiverse-based movie. Feige also confirmed Multiverse would tie-in to the next Spider-Man movie, which is maybe why we’re going to see so many old faces return for that upcoming flick.

'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell
Release date: March 19, 2021

Arriving after the end of WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Solider will debut on Disney+ March 19. The first trailer for the action-packed, buddy cop-esque show focuses squarely on the relationship between Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) in the wake of Cap’s decision to give up the shield. The trailer for the six-episode series ends with a thrilling aerial sequence that looks like it belonged in a Marvel movie, so those fretting about losing something in the move from film-to-tv shouldn’t have their fears eased.

'Black Widow' / 'The Eternals' / 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'

Starring: Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), and Angelina Jolie (The Eternals)
Release date: May 7, 2021 (Black Widow), July 9, 2021 (Shang-Chi), and Nov. 5, 2021 (The Eternals)

Those hoping for some sort of Disney+ debut for Black Widow were sadly disappointed as Feige confirmed Marvel’s commitment to a theatrical release for the long-awaited solo flick. The Scarlett Johansson-led project will hit theaters only on May 7, 2021.

The kung-fu-inspired Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings just wrapped filming and will debut theatrically on July 9, 2021. Meanwhile, Chloé Zhao’s The Eternals will release on November 5, 2021.

'Loki'

Starring: Tom Hiddleston
Release date: May 2021

Set immediately after the god of mischief’s disappearance with the Space Infinity Stone during Avengers: Endgame, Loki will be a sort of crime thriller set in the MCU. The trailer shows Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in the custody of Owen Wilson’s unnamed character at the Time Variance Authority or TVA, where he’s presumably held for crimes against the timeline. 

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice a few easter eggs, including a reference to the Roxxon Energy Corporation, which just showed up in the Spider-Man: Miles Morales video game. There’s a direct reference to 2016’s Vote Loki satirical mini-series (written by Christopher Hastings with art by Langdon Foss) with the trailer’s final shot. Oh, and the fact that Loki appears to be DB Cooper?

However, the updated cast list has me intrigued as it tips toward some speculation about the show’s events. Loki has changed appearance and gender over the years; rumor has it the Loki show will incorporate this by having actress Sophia Di Martino play the female version of Loki, while beloved actor Richard E. Grant offers an older, more comics-traditional take. We won’t have to wait too long to find out, as Loki will hit Disney+ in May 2021.

'What If...?'

'Ms. Marvel' / 'Captain Marvel 2'

Starring: Iman Vellani
Release date: 2021

One of the most adored, new comic book creations is Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel. Created by editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, writer G. Willow Wilson, and artists Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, Khan immediately resonated with fans as the first Muslin character to headline a comic book title. Ms. Marvel’s teen drama is similar to that of great Spider-Man tales but filtered through a character who absolutely loves superheroes—specifically Captain Marvel—only to find herself developing superpowers of her own.

The show will be helmed by Four Weddings and a Funeral series writer Bisha K. Ali. It will feature episodes directed by Bad Boys For Life helmers Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi, Farah Goes Bang’s Meera Menon, and documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Actress Iman Vellani will bring Kamala to life on Disney+ before appearing alongside Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris in the Nia DaCosta-directed Captain Marvel 2. 

(This is your reminder that I’m still bummed we haven’t seen DaCosta’s Candyman—but watch Tessa Thompson act her ass off in DaCosta’s debut, Little Woods!)

'Hawkeye'

Original Avenger Jeremy Renner returns to star as Hawkeye, teaming up with well-known archer from Marvel comics, Kate Bishop played by the amazing Hailee Steinfeld. pic.twitter.com/vqxlEdHQWs

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld
Release date: 2021

Inspired by Matt Fraction and David Aja’s truly incredible storyline, the Hawkeye Disney+ series will focus on Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton teaming up with another skilled archer: Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld).

Fraction and Aja’s run set out to explore what Hawkeye did on his days off and was set in Brooklyn as Clint became the de-facto protector of an apartment building under siege from local gangsters. Oh, it featured a pizza-loving dog who has already shown up in set photos for the show. 

Rounding out the cast is Fra Free, Vera Farmiga, and newcomer Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, aka Echo. In particular, the Echo news marks a good step forward for better inclusion in the MCU. The character is a deaf Native American—and so is Cox. She’ll also join Enternals actor Lauren Ridloff as the second deaf actor in the MCU. Hawkeye will be directed by John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch’s Rhys Thomas and Troop Zero duo Bert and Bertie, which means the Fraction’s comedic stylings will hopefully translate well to the final product.

'She-Hulk'

She-Hulk arrives to the MCU! Tatiana Maslany will portray Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk and Tim Roth returns as the Abomination and Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, will appear in the series. Directed Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, She-Hulk is coming to #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/z4OlQJhrlr

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: Tatiana Maslany
Release date: 2022

Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, is getting a Disney+ series and will be portrayed by Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany. Despite having Hulk abilities of her own, Walters is typically more zen than her raging cousin, Bruce Banner, who is set to appear in the show as well. In addition to Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth’s Abomination will return after his The Incredible Hulk appearance back in 2008.

The show will be a legal procedural with some superheroes tossed in for good measure. Interestingly, Feige teased that you may never know which characters could show up in a courtroom. Could this be a way in for Daredevil to enter the MCU once more?

'Moon Knight'

Moon Knight, an Original Series about a complex vigilante, is coming to #DisneyPlus 🌙 pic.twitter.com/oESb9qLSJD

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: TBA
Release date: TBA

Moon Knight details the story of Marc Spector, a Batman-like vigilante who has dissociative identity disorder and superpowers granted to him by an Egyptian god. While Feige didn’t say how the show will handle that specific character element, the Marvel head mentioned adventure movies like Indiana Jones would inspire the series. Feige also didn’t confirm casting for the show, but it’s heavily-speculated actor Oscar Isaac will lead.

'Secret Invasion'

Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn from Captain Marvel returns as the Skrull Talos in Marvel Studios' Original Series Secret Invasion. Coming to #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/AuInHMuBRW

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn
Release date: TBA

When it was announced that the Skrulls would be a part of the first Captain Marvel, many comic book fans [Ed note: Present company included] anticipated the movie would include some elements of the popular Secret Invasion storyline. While we didn’t quite get this angle, we will now. The Secret Invasion series for Disney+ features Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos will hunt down shape-shifting Skrulls who have infiltrated all parts of Earth. The 2008 event series mentioned above —  written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu — was a little hit or miss but featured one of my single favorite comic book panels ever. I would anticipate this show to be a buddy cop meets spy thriller instead of the epic crossover event seen in the original series. 

'Ironheart'

Coming soon to #DisneyPlus, Dominique Thorne is genius inventor Riri Williams in Ironheart, an Original Series about the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. pic.twitter.com/VB94VyPr9e

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: Dominque Thorne
Release date: TBA

Feige revealed the development of a Disney+ series for the Ironheart character. Much like the creation of Miles Morales, writer Brian Michael Bendis introduced Riri Williams in 2015 as a successor to Iron Man. A 15-year-old wunderkind, Riri is a Black engineering student who attends MIT, where she ends up making an Iron Man-like suit. She eventually draws the attention of Tony Stark, who gives her his blessing to become a superhero under the name Ironheart. 

Riri hasn’t had an ongoing series of her own since Eve Ewing’s 2018 to 2019 run on the title, but expect that to change in the wake of this news. Newcomer Dominque Thorne has been cast in the role.

'Armor Wars'

Don Cheadle returns as James Rhodes aka War Machine in Armor Wars, an Original Series coming to #DisneyPlus. A classic Marvel story about Tony Stark’s worst fear coming true: what happens when his tech falls into the wrong hands? pic.twitter.com/K6M0q9mcNM

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring:  Don Cheadle
Release date: TBA

Other than the Demon in a Bottle story, which was loosely adapted for Iron Man 2, one of the most famous Iron Man stories is Armor Wars. The David Michelinie and Bob Layton story ran for seven issues in the late 80s, and detailed one of Stark’s worst fears come true: What happens when the Iron Man tech falls into the wrong hands?

While Don Cheadle will headline the series as James Rhodes, there’s a good chance we’ll see Riri Williams involved one way or another. And this could be the right place for the return of Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer or even the introduction of Ezekiel Stane, the son of Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). Oh, and maybe we’ll get Gwyneth Paltrow back too?

'Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' / 'I Am Groot'

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. James Gunn is back to write and direct.

The Original Special is coming to #DisneyPlus in 2022. 🎁 🎧 pic.twitter.com/8JqjhPo6Cn

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: TBA
Release date: 2022 (Holiday Special), TBA (I Am Groot)

Feige mentioned leveraging Disney+ to distribute projects Marvel didn’t necessarily have a place for before the introduction of the service—which is why we’re now getting a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Not much is known other than director/writer James Gunn will helm the project during the production of Guardians 3. The special will release during the 2022 holiday season, with Guardians 3 arriving in 2023.

Additionally, Baby Groot will headline his own series in I Am Groot. Marvel didn’t detail much but said the show would feature “several new and unusual characters.”

'Blade'

Starring: Mahershala Ali
Release date: TBA

Other than reiterating the casting of Mahershala Ali as the titular daywalker himself, Feige didn’t have any new information about the upcoming Blade movie. The project remains in active development. 

'Thor: Love and Thunder'

Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale will join the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder as the villain Gorr the God Butcher. In theaters May 6, 2022. ⚡ pic.twitter.com/fWS4UuP2oM

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Christian Bale
Release date: May 6, 2022

We already knew Taika Waititi’s second Thor movie would feature the return of both Tessa Thompson but also Natalie Portman as she becomes a Thor herself, but we didn’t know much else. After a few months of rumors, Christian Bale was confirmed to join the cast as the villainous Gorr the God Butcher.

Love and Thunder looks to heavily draw from writer Jason Aaron’s tenure on the title. Hailed by comic fans and critics alike as a modern classic, Aaron’s run introduced the Jane Foster Thor we’ll see Portman portray as well as Gorr, who terrorized Thor across three different time periods in the God of Thunder’s life. Gorr is a genuinely frightening character, and Bale’s intensity is a perfect fit for the role. While the film won’t debut until May 6, 2022, you can read Aaron’s story right now to get a sense of the real threat Thor will be facing. 

'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'

Peyton Reed is back to direct the third Ant-Man film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer all return. Kathryn Newton joins the cast as Cassie Lang and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. pic.twitter.com/opXw1cmpFj

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, Jonathan Majors
Release date: TBA

The Ant-Man movies have sneakily been some of my stealth favorites in the MCU, and I’m glad director Peyton Reed is fully leaning into the skid with the newly titled Quantumania. After Scott was away for so long, he’ll be reunited with a grown-up Cassie Lang played by Blockers and Big Little Lies actor Kathryn Newton. Fans of the comics will know Cassie eventually becomes a hero of her own, so we’re likely to see Scott’s family join with the Pym family.

Speaking of the Pym family, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer will all reprise their roles as they take on the time-traveling adversary Kang the Conqueror, who will be played by Lovecraft Country star Jonathan Majors. In comic book history, Kang is actually Nathaniel Richards—a descendant of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic—who fights the Avengers. A time-traveler, he’ll probably have a bone to pick with Scott’s use of the Quantum Realm in Avengers: Endgame.

'Black Panther II'

Starring: TBA
Release date: July 8, 2022

Feige took time to acknowledge the tragic passing of actor Chadwick Boseman and to announce that the Ryan Coogler-written and directed sequel would not recast the T’Challa out of respect for Boseman. Instead, Black Panther II will pay tribute to the actor and leverage other characters that appeared in the initial film. Might we see Shuri take up the mantle as she did in the comics? Or someone else entirely? Regardless, we’ll find out when the film releases on July 8, 2022.

'Fantastic Four'

Jon Watts will direct the new feature film for Marvel's First Family, Fantastic Four! pic.twitter.com/Eu26ghxbGT

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020

Starring: TBA
Release date: TBA

In a shocking bit of news, Feige closed the presentation with the reveal that the Fantastic Four will head to the MCU courtesy of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts. No release date or additional casting information was provided.

The Fantastic Four previously belonged to Fox but was reacquired by Marvel during the Disney and Fox merger in 2019. While many thought the X-Men might be the first Fox franchise to be relieved, it is instead Marvel’s first family. The Fantastic Four have so much untapped potential, and I’m legitimately hopeful that audiences will be rewarded with a version of the characters that better reflects why they’ve been such a mainstay in comics.

Every 'Star Wars'-Related Announcement From Disney Investor Day 2020

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Rumors and speculation had Star Wars fans primed to anticipate some news from Disney’s Investor Day press conference last night. Still, even the most ardent fans couldn’t have expected all the news that broke. In addition to providing new information on previous announcements series, LucasFilm announced five brand new Star Wars-related Disney+ series and a new theatrical movie, charting the future of a galaxy far, far away.

The biggest takeaway seems to be that when it comes to Star Wars stories, not everything has to be about the Jedi. Many of these new projects are new genre shows wrapped up with a Star Wars bow. It’s a refreshing and bold new direction that finally seems to fulfill the promise of exploring a depth and breadth of different tales within this universe.

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all the news. And, being the resident Star Wars nerd that I am, I couldn’t help but put all that lore to good use by speculating a bit about what we might see from each show once it debuts.

'The Mandalorian' Season 3 

Starring: Pedro Pascal
Release date: Christmas 2021

Outside of a sizzle reel showing the season’s events thus far, the only real news about The Mandalorian is that a third season would debut on Disney+ during Christmas 2021.

'Andor'

Starring: Diego Luna
Release date: 2022

Set to debut in 2022, Andor is a Rogue One prequel featuring Diego Luna’s titular Cassian Andor. A spy thriller set amongst the world of Star Wars, the show is helmed by filmmaker Tony Gilroy, who worked on Rogue One and wrote the first four Bourne films. Currently, in production in London, the show has rounded out its cast with actors Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly, who played Mon Mothma in Rogue One and Revenge of the Sith. Andor will also be the longest live-action Star Wars series with a scheduled 12 episodes.

'Rangers of the New Republic' / 'Ahsoka'

Starring: Gina Carano (Rangers), Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka)
Release date: TBA

Announced together as a pair, both Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka will spin out of The Mandalorian. Developed by Jon Favreau, Rangers will most likely be the Cara Dune (Gina Carano) led series that’s been seeded and teased throughout Season 2 of The Mandalorian as Dune embraces her calling as a Marshal of the New Republic in the wake of the Empire’s end.

The Rosario Dawson-led Ahsoka series is showrun by Dave Filoni and will most likely feature the former Jedi’s quest to find Grand Admiral Thrawn and Jedi Ezra Bridger, as we outlined in this piece. One thing I think we can for sure count on here is some crazy Force-based time travel, as shown in the circular details of the show’s title treatment.

Interestingly enough, both series will culminate in some sort of event story on—you guessed it—Disney+.

'Obi-Wan Kenobi'

Hayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader, joining Ewan McGregor in OBI-WAN KENOBI. The Original Series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Revenge of the Sith, and is coming to #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/9WR2npRUkk

— Star Wars (@starwars) December 10, 2020

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen
Release date: TBA

While we knew actor Ewan McGregor would return as the titular Obi-Wan Kenobi in his series, we didn’t know much else about the mini-series led by Deborah Chow. The big news here was the reveal that Hayden Christensen would return not as Anakin, but as Darth Vader for a showdown against Obi-Wan 10 years after the end of Revenge of the Sith. We know the duo will come out of the battle alive to fight again in A New Hope, but having both McGregor and Christensen together, once more, is bound to be something special. That point is something McGregor himself acknowledged in the exclusive footage screened for investors; the actor said his reunion with Christensen was “the most beautiful thing of all.”

'The Bad Batch'

Starring: TBA
Release date: TBA

Spinning out of their introduction at the beginning of the final season of the Clone Wars animated series, The Bad Batch is the next big animated series from Star Wars and will follow the special Clone task force in the wake of the Empire’s emergence. Will the Batch turn against the Emperor and go rogue? Or work within this new evil empire? Time will tell, but the quick glimpse at footage proved there wouldn’t be any shortage of action in this animated series. 

'Star Wars Visions'

Star Wars: Visions, an Original Series of animated short films, celebrates the @StarWars galaxy through the lens of the world’s best Japanese anime creators. Coming in 2021 to @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/lmCZGSHEhY

— Star Wars (@starwars) December 10, 2020

Starring: TBA
Release date: 2021

Not much was said about Star Wars Visions other than the project will bring together some of anime’s best creators for a series of animated short films. No creators were announced, but the series will premiere in 2021.

'Lando'

The galaxy’s favorite scoundrel, Lando Calrissian, will return in Lando, a brand-new event series for @DisneyPlus. Justin Simien (@JSim07) is in the early stages of developing the project.

— Star Wars (@starwars) December 10, 2020

Starring: TBA
Release date: TBA

No longer just speculation, the galaxy’s most charismatic smuggler, Lando Calrissian, will get his own event series in Lando. We covered this news when the rumor first broke over the summer, but there’s a good chance we’ll get both Donald Glover and Billy Dee Williams involved in the series. I know Solo doesn’t have much of a good reputation in some parts, but I hope we’ll get to see some of those lingering plots addressed as a fan of the movie. Dear White People’s Justin Simien will helm the show, which currently doesn’t have a release.

'The Acolyte'

Leslye Headland brings a new @StarWars series to @DisneyPlus with The Acolyte. “The Acolyte” is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.

— Star Wars (@starwars) December 10, 2020

Starring: TBA
Release date: TBA 

Created by Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland, The Acolyte will be a “mystery-thriller” set in the High Republic’s final days. This period is actually the focus of a new set of books and comics that will roll out in January 2021 and explores an era when the Jedi were at the peak of their powers. The project also features really cool stuff like Wookies with lightsabers.

The show will detail “shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers,” which means it could serve as the origin of one Sheev Palpatine. Here’s to hoping we get to see shadowy places like Dathomir, where Darth Maul originated.

'Rogue Squadron'

Starring: TBA
Release date: TBA 

Outside of an official confirmation of Taika Waititi’s Star Wars-related movie, the big news was a Rogue Squadron movie from Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. In a video posted to her Twitter, Jenkins explained that she grew up around fighter jets, as her father was a pilot. While he ultimately lost his life in service to God and country, the thrill of planes was something Jenkins never forgot.

Rogue Squadron should ring a bell to videogamers, as it was the title for an extremely popular series of games wherein you could pilot various spacecraft like TIE fighters and X-Wings. I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie is basically Top Gun in space. It’d also be cool to see the live-action debut of a character like Hera Syndulla. The Star Wars Rebels character is a formidable pilot in her own right and is featured heavily in Star Wars Squadrons, a modern and spiritual successor to those old Rogue Squadron games.

Babar, the Stylish Cartoon Elephant, Takes Center Stage in a New Collaboration With Rowing Blazers

This article originally appeared on RobbReport.com

How well do you remember the story of Babar the Elephant? In many ways, the French children’s book, created in 1931 by Jean de Brunhoff, is the story of a renaissance man. Despite a tragic beginning (for those who don’t recall, a hunter kills Babar’s mother), Babar escapes to the big city where he becomes a man, er, elephant of sophistication, donning a natty green suit and learning about the ways of the world before returning to his home and becoming their king. Unlikely as it may seem, the regal elephant has serious style chops.

This is the central hook of Rowing Blazers’ newest collaboration. Not content to rest on their laurels after a smashing royal partnership that the brand literally cannot keep in stock, the NYC-based clothier is ending 2020 on a strong note with a collection that celebrates Babar’s nostalgic charm. Prime for holiday gifting, this collection is the first of an ongoing partnership between Rowing Blazers and Canadian animation studio Nelvana that takes the preppy threads the brand is known for and remixes them with de Brunhoff’s classic iconography, including Babar, his car, even his hot air balloon.

“I wanted to do this collaboration for a long time,” Jack Carlson, founder and designer of Rowing Blazers, tells us. “Babar is all over our mood board. He’s a big inspiration for me, for the brand. Babar is a super stylish guy in terms of his clothes and in terms of his overall lifestyle—very fun and whimsical. I just love the whole vibe.”

That playful take on upper-crust life jibes with Rowing Blazers’ irreverence rather well. Recounting the elephant’s refined sensibility, Carlson says: “Babar has done it all. He’s skied in the French Alps. When Babar visits America, [he] does it right. He has dinner at the White House. He gets an honorary degree from Harvard. He’s in the Presidential suite at the Waldorf having brunch. He attends a party in Los Angeles that looks like something Slim Aarons would photograph. He’s like if James Bond had a family. Babar doesn’t mess around.”

The collection doesn’t mess around either. Rowing Blazer staples like corduroy trousers, caps and ruby shirts are cheekily emblazoned with Babar’s likeness. The most eye-catching (and collectible) get is an actual reproduction of Babar’s famed green suit. Crafted from comfortable cotton gabardine, it’s a faithful page-to-real-life recreation—just cut to flatter homo sapiens. In a characteristically thoughtful touch, the interior lining features Babar getting fitted for his version of the suit.

The other standout is a cashmere-wool blend sweater, intarsia-knit with the elephant king, that might seem familiar. “I’m not ashamed to say that it’s a little bit inspired by a Polo Bear sweater,” Carlson said, referring to Ralph Lauren’s cuddly mascot. “Doing that sweater was a big challenge, actually. Getting it all rendered really well—because it’s a hand-worked process, it’s not like it’s a screen print.” Rather than a conventional print, the design is knit into the sweater—which Carlson says took some twenty iterations to perfect. The tenacity paid off, resulting in a piece that’s bound to move as quickly as those Diana sweaters did.

Sure, Babar may not top any lists of fashion icons. But a deeper look proves how style is central to the character’s story. Translating a childhood cartoon into something that speaks to grown men is no easy feat. Still, Rowing Blazers has managed to do it in a way that feels effortless—while also reminding us that fashion inspiration can come from the most unexpected places.

What Warner Bros. Putting Their 2021 Film Slate on HBO Max Means for the Future of Moviegoing

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Warner Brothers, which already announced that they would be releasing Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max and in theaters on Christmas Day, has responded to COVID-19 shutting down theaters with one swift action: declaring that their entire 2021 film slate would premiere on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously. This announcement was met with much shock; I know I had about six different chats going, all asking the same thing: is this the end of moviegoing as we know it?

It’s a question that comes with a loaded answer, honestly. On the one hand, this is the way of the world: for many of us, three-quarters of 2020 has been spent being unable to attend theaters due to COVID fears shutting down public spaces. This feels like a natural progression to a growing problem. However, this is a decision that doesn’t appear to be made solely based on the predicament studios are in due to cinemas being closed. It’s a lot to unpack, which is why I was glad when the homie William sent a note asking if I wanted to discuss this.

That said, here are some raw thoughts and opinions on what Warner Brothers releasing their 2021 film slate on HBO Max in conjunction with theaters might mean.

khal: So with the news that Warner Brothers has put their entire slate for 2021 on HBO Max, all I’ve been getting hit with privately was if this was the death of theaters. I’m...not really convinced of that, and it’s got more to do than just the films dropping on HBO Max and in theaters. I'm looking more at what’s been going on behind the scenes at what's now known as WarnerMedia. There’s been a shift in power over there that has included the formation of HBO Max, a service in a sea of streaming services that while having some of the best content (both new and back catalog), but is one of many services that are available for people during this quarantine period.

But I don’t want to get ahead of myself, young William. I wanna know your thoughts on what this HBO Max news means for the future of cinema.

William: As the site’s resident defender of the theatrical moviegoing experience, the mood I’m feeling after hearing the news is basically “Not great, Bob!” Before I get into it, I think it might help to walk through a few of the things that lead us here.

The writing’s been on the wall for a studio to make this kind of sweeping change since the great Trolls World Tour fracas from earlier this year. The decision to release Trolls on PVOD (premium video on demand) was the first crack in the armor of theatrical windows (windowing refers to the period in which a movie theater chain has exclusive rights to show a movie). Once movie theater chains decided they were sort of okay with movie studios breaking windowing, the industry was in a position where WarnerMedia could move forward with deciding to just absolutely shatter the glass instead of taking another chip out of it.

HBO Max’s haphazard roll-out plays another role, too. While we still don’t have a damn Roku app, Max has quietly turned itself into a fantastic service with offerings like the Fresh Prince reunion special, smart new shows like The Flight Attendant, and a sheer amount of compelling movie offerings from Studio Ghibli, Turner Classic Movies, and HBO itself. The sheer depth and breadth of what you can watch on Max is, in my opinion, better than Netflix.

However, a service is only as good as its marketing, and AT&T (the owners of WarnerMedia) still haven’t quite figured out how to best address Max. No matter the number of explainers about the platform, consumers still aren’t sure how to properly access it. Deciding to trash HBO Now in favor of HBO Max confounds even to this day. And, again, still no Roku!

In their release, Warner cites that “The hybrid model was created as a strategic response to the impact of the ongoing global pandemic, particularly in the U.S.”. Still, I can’t help but look at this decision and not see it as a money grab from AT&T to try and goose Max numbers after such a bungled launch. If COVID was indeed the reason, why didn’t Warner talk to any exhibitors about their decision ahead of time, as detailed by The Hollywood Reporter? I understand the need for a studio to do something to generate profits during a pandemic but I am highly skeptical about the real intent behind this decision. Am I overreacting here, khal? 

khal: I don’t think you’re overreacting. While HBO figured out life after Game of Thrones, WarnerMedia is one of many companies that had to start laying off staff this year. I just learned the other day that the PlayStation 5 doesn’t currently have an app for HBO Max, which is...confusing? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been rocking with Roku devices and Roku TCL televisions for years now. Walmart and other big-box retailers keep Rokus in stock, primarily because they are cheaper and are still able to do what the bigger name devices can do. That’s a huge swath of the population that potentially is shut out of getting HBO Max thus far. Even if they already subscribed to HBO Now or HBO Go, the apps they use—I use—to check out the service don’t give you nearly the same experience.

That said, I believe the Warners are in a no-win situation. While studios like Disney might be more than content in waiting out the pandemic (Ed note: wear a fucking mask!) before making these kinds of decisions, the fact of the matter is this: theaters in cities like Los Angeles and New York are still not open. Hell, my local AMC closed last month! Back in June, it looked like we may be back in movie theaters at this point, but we aren’t. With no vaccine readily available for the masses (yet), there’s no telling when the theater business can attempt to rebuild itself. I’m not surprised that WarnerMedia’s decided to drop its entire 2021 slate on HBO Max in addition to whatever theaters are open at the time. Being a homebody hermit, I’m a-OK with checking out films from the comfort of my couch. My homies aren’t, though, and I’m going on nine months of not touching down at an AMC. It sucks, and no matter what kind of soundbar I can afford, it just doesn’t beat going to the cinema.

I’m curious to see what happens when Wonder Woman 1984 drops on Christmas Day. Is WarnerMedia expecting hundreds of thousands of subscribers for that film? What’s the data on current DC fans and HBO Max subscriptions—I’d imagine that folks looking for The Snyder Cut might already be on-board, especially if they were already HBO Now subscribers. And what if Wonder Woman 1984 doesn’t yield the return they envision? Could we see changes to their release—maybe the aforementioned PVOD route will be examined? But are you down to pay $29.99 in addition to the $15 you’re paying for HBO Max now? We didn’t get hard numbers on what Mulan did, but Pixar’s Soul is skipping theaters to hit Disney+ as well.

We’re only, currently, talking about two production companies, though. Do you think we could see more studios going the PVOD route? Could Universal be trying to mold Peacock in a similar HBO Max vein?

William: I’m not sure about Peacock, although I suppose anything is on the table there, as I’m not sure I know anyone who is a dedicated subscriber—although that might change when The Office leaves Netflix this month.

I do think Disney, strangely enough, is going to continue to champion theatrical. Look, I don’t want to be in the position of defending a corporation that has just gobbled up major IP and studios in Galactus-like fashion, but it appears (for now, at least!) Disney is committed to theatrical once it’s safe. To your point about Mulan, I think if the Disney Premiere Access experiment had performed well, we’d see it replicated again with either Soul or Black Widow. To me, the fact that Soul is just coming to Disney+ for free is an admission Mulan didn’t drive the money they were looking for and need to have something on the service in-between the end of The Mandalorian and the start of WandaVision. Although, today’s news proves anything can happen, so maybe Black Widow does hit the service after all. Who knows?

To your point about AT&T changing course, I think the genie is already out of the bottle here. I wish the company had decided to keep to some version of windowing, letting theatrical be the baited hook for an eventual Max release instead of doing them simultaneously. There’s a real intent for audiences to go to the movies, as demonstrated by Thanksgiving box office returns from The Croods 2. Whether or not people should go right now is one thing (spoiler: uh, you shouldn’t) but a $14.2 million opening for Croods 2 tells me there’s a desire to get out of the house and see a film. Also, that $14.2 million beats Tenet’s opening figure of $9.35 million, for what it’s worth.
AT&T’s decision, ultimately, feels short-sided and panicked to me. Who knows the repercussions it could have? Speaking of Tenet, I have to imagine “Mr. Theatrical” Christopher Nolan isn’t too jazzed about this choice. What if he decides to sign with another studio now? What if people who were excited to go to theaters, once it’s safe, return only to feel like there’s nothing to see? I think there will be dozens of dominos that fall in the wake of this news. Once they’re done toppling over, I think it’s a genuine possibility we won’t see movie theater chains exist in the same manner as they currently do. Again, I don’t want to be in the business of defending major corporations, but when a chain like AMC needs the returns of something like Matrix 4 to survive, what happens if 20 percent of the audience who would typically go to a theater decide to watch it home instead? Are you ready for a future of movies that’s even more hobbyist than it is now?

khal: I’m not. I was having a conversation with someone about what this can really mean for the movie industry at large. At some point, assuming theaters open back up, one has to imagine that theaters will be trying to bring in legacy flicks—classics that will draw audiences back into theaters to try and recoup some of that money. The problem is, what will this mean for the next couple of years when it comes to movies that studios decide to produce? Will we be seeing more of the larger “universe” films that have saturated the mainstream? If so, what will that mean for the smaller, indie companies trying to fight for those same silver screens? Could we see those companies being shut out, especially if the smaller theaters are closing up shop because they didn’t have the funds to last the COVID theater closings?

No, I’m not ready for this future. I’m also unsure if the hobbyist structure you spoke of will be the future. Cineworld was able to secure finances for Regal Cinemas to avoid bankruptcy. AMC is closing theaters (RIP to my easy commute to see Spider-Man: Far From Home in a Dolby theater), but I can’t imagine they are dead in the water...yet. I’m enough of an optimist to believe that we can make it out on the other side of this thing. I’m also old enough to realize that things like COVID-19 shutting down the globe means that it’ll take time to recover. If Disney is betting on theaters opening up, I have to believe that moviegoers will be ready once vaccines have run through the country and cities start to open up again. It will just take a lot longer than I initially thought it would.

Look, if the world starts to return to normal come June or July, this whole conversation could shift. If things go back to normal, what’s to say that WarnerMedia won’t walk this back? Either way, I do have a soundbar, and my TV is nice enough. Hopefully, HBO Max will arrive on Roku devices by that point.

William: With all of that said, WarnerMedia does seem committed to theatrical. In a new interview with Deadline, CEO Jason Kilar stated, “We’re here for the long term, in terms of theatrical exhibition and obviously in investing heavily in motion pictures and also investing heavily in the marketing of those motion pictures.” Now, what this all means when theaters do return remains to be seen, but it looks like some chains are still willing to play ball. Cinemark announced they’ll be “making near-term booking decisions on a film-by-film basis” even though “Warner Bros. has not provided any details for the hybrid distribution model of their 2021 films.”

We’re all going to have to take this step-by-step as it unfolds. But one thing is for sure: moviegoing just dramatically and rapidly changed. It’s just the latest unprecedented change to the status quo in a year full of titanic shifts. Although, HBO truly embracing the Home Box Office Channel of its namesake is one move I don’t think we ever anticipated. 

The 4 Biggest Takeaways From 'The Mandalorian' Chapter 13: The Jedi

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

The Mandalorian’s sophomore season has continued to find ways to excite and surprise all kinds of Star Wars watchers, but the one thing diehard fans of the series have waited for is the appearance of Ahsoka Tano. Rumors around the character’s live-action debut started back in March of this year, with the news that Rosario Dawson would portray the Clone Wars protagonist. And, after much waiting, the speculation proved true as Ahsoka came to life in the latest episode of The Mandalorian called “The Jedi.”

Along with seeing Ahsoka interact alongside our beloved Mando (Pedro Pascal), audiences were given some monumental information—whether they knew it or not. If you’re an avid watcher of the Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series, these juicy tidbits are a continuation of a long-promised story. But no worries if you haven’t seen a single episode of those two shows, as we’re here to breakdown what these big reveals might mean for the future of The Mandalorian.

Meet Ahsoka

Portrayed by: Rosario Dawson

Fans of the Clone Wars saw 12 years' worth of dreams realized as the fantastic Ahsoka Tano finally came to live-action. For those unaware of her history, here’s a brief breakdown. Conceptualized by The Mandalorian co-creator Dave Filoni and voiced by Ashley Eckstein, Ahsoka is essentially the series lead of Clone Wars and the Jedi Padawan of none other than Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka is a young teenager at the beginning of Clone Wars, where her brashness, sheer talent, and unpredictability makes her a perfect match for Anakin and his similar tendencies.

As the titular Clone Wars rage, Ahsoka becomes increasingly frustrated with the hypocrisy of the Jedi Order, eventually leaving after being framed for a crime she didn’t do. From this point forward, Ahsoka operates as a sort of force-powered Ronin, helping the innocent on her own terms. She’s eventually drawn back into the orbit of Anakin and the Jedi Order as offers to help Bo-Katan take back Mandalore from Darth Maul. While she’s ultimately victorious, that triumph doesn’t come without tragedy, as the Clone army she’s with turns on her thanks to Order 66.

After escaping, Ahsoka appears in Star Wars Rebels, where she’s working as a Rebel spy operating under the alias of Fulcrum. She helps the Rebels crew through a few adventures, including an encounter with Darth Vader. The crushing reunion between master and apprentice (something “The Jedi” subtly makes a note of) ends with Ahsoka’s fate unknown—until the end of Rebels. There, audiences discover she was saved by the lead of Star Wars Rebels: Jedi Ezra Bridger. Ezra pulled Ahsoka out of her battle with Anakin thanks to the World Between Worlds, which is essentially the Star Wars version of time-travel. Crazy, right?

Ahsoka remains in the World Between Worlds for the duration of the original trilogy of films until she finally emerges. In the coda of Rebels (set around the same time as The Mandalorian) Ahsoka enlists the help of another Rebels character, Mandalorian Sabine Wren, to look for Ezra. While Sabine isn’t present when Ahsoka runs into Mando in “The Jedi,” it’s clear she’s still on the hunt for Ezra, which is why she’s so interested in the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

First appearance: Star Wars Legends: "Heir to the Empire" (1991)

Among dedicated fans of Star Wars, Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the series’ most respected villains. Thrawn was initially part of the expanded Star Wars Legends canon that was discarded when Disney acquired LucasFilm in 2012. However, Thrawn was too good of a character to leave on the scrapheap and eventually found his way back into the Disney-approved stories through Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars: Thrawn novel and Star Wars Rebels.

Grand Admiral is the highest-rank an official in the Imperial army can receive, and Thrawn was presented his title directly from Emperor Palpatine in a special ceremony. Thrawn possessed a brilliant strategic mind and ruthlessness in combat that made him a particularly dangerous foe. To gain advantages over his enemies, Thrawn devoted himself to studying his opponents’ culture—including in-depth knowledge of the Mandalorian’s homeworld of Mandalore.

Towards the end of Star Wars Rebels, Thrawn has the show’s heroes with their backs against the wall until Ezra Bridger pulls a risky move that sends both himself and the Grand Admiral into an unknown part of the galaxy. Ezra’s sacrifice seemingly marked the end of Thrawn—or did until Ahsoka mentions him in “The Jedi.” It appears that somehow the Grand Admiral has returned and garnered enough power to amass new followers, including the Magistrate played by Diana Lee Inosanto.

A New Jedi

In the final moments of “The Jedi,” Ahsoka tells Mando to take Baby Yoda Grogu to the remains of a Jedi temple on the planet Tython, where the child can reach out through the force to hopefully connect with another Jedi. Tython is a critically important planet to Star Wars lore, as it’s believed to be where the Jedi Order began. While Luke Skywalker does end up starting a new Jedi Temple in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi, I’d like to think the show won’t lean into this kind of fan service. Instead, there are some other candidates that might likely train Grogu instead.

The videogame Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduced the character of Cal Kestis to the Star Wars universe. The game takes place in the early days of the Rebellion against the Empire, long before the events of The Mandalorian. While we don’t know the fate of Cal quite yet, he’s one likely candidate to come calling for the child. Plus, Cal’s appearance is modeled on Shameless actor Cameron Monaghan. Age him up a bit, and you’d be all set for a live-action debut.

We could also see some brand new, previously unheard of Jedi. One of the strengths of The Mandalorian is how the show has introduced all sorts of new lore to the Star Wars universe, and it’d be fascinating to see their version of a new Jedi. 

The more likely outcome, however, is the return of Ezra Bridger. After saving her from Vader and pulling her into the World Between Worlds, Ezra makes Ahsoka promise to come and find him when she returns to the galaxy. However, before this reunion, Ezra executes his plan to take care of Thrawn. With the Jedi still missing, Ahsoka is hoping the (seemingly back!?) Thrawn will lead her to Ezra. But could Mando and Grogu find the missing Jedi instead?

Duel of the Fates

In a clever move, the trailers for Season 2 of The Mandalorian only featured footage from the season’s first four episodes. Disney is known to play coy with its audience—Grogu never appeared in the trailers for Season 1, for example. As we head into the final three episodes, however, this mystery is especially welcome. Much of the information leaked out around this season we’ve seen already, leaving us without much of a roadmap for what’s ahead.

Outside of the possible return of Thrawn and Ezra, we do know there's going to be an epic showdown between Mando and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). Ahead of Season 2, Esposito mentioned he broke “three” prop versions of the Darksaber during filming. Initially, I thought Gideon would be facing off against Ahsoka, but now that Mando has a pure Beskar staff, he’s ready to fight the series’ big bad properly. Oh, and Pedro Pascal will get the chance to right a past wrong.

My man is about to avenge his biggest L 💯 #TheMandalorian pic.twitter.com/oND00Paj0V

— Not Another Movie Pod 🍿 (@notamoviepod) November 28, 2020

Could this face-off come in the Robert Rodiguez-helmed episode? A fight sequence certainly feels within the director’s action-based wheelhouse. Regardless, this season looks poised to conclude with a decidedly meaningful duel over the fate of Grogu. Consider us hyped no matter what the future may hold.

Unforgiven: A Timeline of Dave Chappelle's Falling-Out With ViacomCBS Over 'Chappelle's Show'

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Dave Chappelle is a comedic, creative, and artistic force. He remains one of the only performers who when he speaks, everyone stops to listen. Nowhere was this better exhibited than in his Comedy Central sketch series, Chappelle’s Show, which ran from 2003 until he left the show in 2005. During this time, the show produced truly iconic sketches like Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories about Prince and Rick James, Clayton Bigsby, Wayne Brady’s Show, A Moment in the Life of Lil Jon, and more. The show became a massive hit for Comedy Central and firmly cemented Chappelle as one the artistic masters of the 21st first century—until he walked away from it all.

Chappelle’s Show is back in the news thanks to its recent return to streaming services. However, Chappelle himself is frustrated with the situation. On November 24, the comedian posted a video to his Instagram detailing his thoughts over the process in which his seminal series had been licensed out to various streaming platforms including Netflix, HBOMax, and CBS All Access. In the wake of this news Netflix—who Chappelle has worked with since 2016—has pulled the show from their service.

How did we get here? Chappelle’s frustrations with Comedy Central and its parent company ViacomCBS stretch back all the way into the early aughts. To provide a full and clear picture, we’ve assembled a timeline of events about Chappelle’s Show’s entire history and what came after the fallout. What you’ll see here still remains of Hollywood’s most interesting stories: how Chappelle had it all, walked away, and built something entirely new.

‘Chappelle’s Show’ premieres

Date: Jan. 22, 2003

What Happened: The first episode of Chappelle’s Show debuts on the Viacom-owned Comedy Central and features the Frontline: Clayton Bigsby sketch. The Hollywood Reporter’s initial review was less than stellar, saying, “Chappelle's Show, a half-hour sketch series packed with potential, drops the ball in its premiere episode as one great setup after another falls flat in the delivery. There are some amusing moments, but the bits are mostly one-joke premises that wear thin too quickly, a la neo-Saturday Night Live.”

That review has aged very poorly.

‘Chappelle’s Show’ Season 2 debuts

Date: Jan. 21, 2004

What Happened: Fresh off a strong first season, the show’s sophomore season premiered and became an instant comedy classic.

The Rick James sketch airs

Date: Feb. 11, 2004

What Happened: The famous “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Rick James” sketch airs as part of the show’s fourth episode and launches the show fully into the general public’s consciousness. It’s only a matter of time before middle and high school gyms and hallways ring out with overquoted shouts of “I’m Rick James, bitch!”

Comedy Central renews the show for two additional seasons

Date: March 8, 2004

What Happened: A little under a month after the Rick James sketch aired, Comedy Central announced it had renewed the show for two, 13-episode seasons. "Comedy Central is the rightful home for Chappelle's Show and Dave's unique and provocative brand of humor," said Comedy Central’s original programming chief Lauren Corrao. The deal is reported to be worth about $50 million.

Chappelle leaves the stage during a stand-up performance

Date: June 18, 2004

What Happened: During a stand-up performance in Sacramento, California, someone in the audience repeatedly shouted, “I’m Rick James, bitch!” at Chappelle, interrupting the show. Chappelle left the stage for about two minutes before returning and stating that “The [Comedy Central] show is running my life” and that he didn’t enjoy working “20 hours a day.” 

Chappelle went a step further and said, “You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you. I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid.” He also stated, “This (stand-up) is the most important thing I do, and because I'm on TV, you make it hard for me to do it.”

Local paper the Sacramento Bee wrote a full account of the evening’s events, including Chappelle making a rather humorous reference to Silence of the Lambs—and proving that he’s always been a big movie fan.

‘Chappelle’s Show’ boosts Comedy Central’s ratings

Date: July 6, 2004

What Happened: Comedy Central boasted about how Chappelle’s Show had boosted their ratings in a USA Today report, providing the network with their biggest hit since South Park debuted in 1998. The channel saw its ratings increase by 28 percent that year due to the strength of Chappelle.

‘Chappelle’s Show’ earns two Emmy nominations

Date: July 15, 2004

What Happened: A few days after the ratings news, the show earned its first Emmy nominations: One for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series and another for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy program.

Production on Season 3 slows

Date: Dec. 21, 2004

What Happened: While it was later revealed that the comedian took a break due to stress, Comedy Central announced in December of 2004 that Season 3 would premiere on May 31, 2005, instead of February 2005. At the time, the network cited the fact that Chappelle had come down with the flu.

Season 3 delayed indefinitely

Date: May 4, 2005

What Happened: Just a few weeks before the premiere of Season 3, Comedy Central announced that the show would not hit its intended release date and that production had been suspended “until further notice.” At the time, Chappelle himself didn’t provide a statement.

Chappelle revealed to be in South Africa

Date: May 14, 2005

What Happened: About 10 days later, Entertainment Weekly and the New York Times reported Chappelle had left the US for South Africa back on April 28, 2005, to enter himself into a psychiatric facility. Time Magazine eventually caught up with the comedian who stated he’d left to be “in a quiet place” for a while and that he was not on drugs. 

Chappelle went on to cast blame on some unmentioned people in his inner circle as the cause of his stress: “If you don't have the right people around you and you're moving at a million miles an hour you can lose yourself," he said. "Everyone around me says, 'You're a genius!'; 'You're great!'; 'That's your voice!' But I'm not sure that they're right."

The thing that really seemed to break Chappelle was the “Black Pixie” sketch. He stated that during the sketch’s filming, a white spectator was watching and laughed loud and long. At this point, Chappelle wondered if he was reinforcing stereotypes instead of satirizing them. "When he laughed, it made me uncomfortable," says Chappelle. "As a matter of fact, that was the last thing I shot before I told myself I gotta take f****** time out after this. Because my head almost exploded."

In a random footnote to all this, it was revealed in a 2019 interview with Netflix that none other than a young John Mulaney (!) delivered the news to Comedy Central president Doug Herzog that Chappelle had left. Furthermore, Mulaney then traveled to Los Angeles to recover production tapes of what bits of Season 3 Chappelle had recorded.

Chappelle still hesitant to return

Date: Summer 2005

What Happened: In a dinner with Comedy Central president Doug Herzog, Chappelle expressed hesitation to return to the show saying that fame was getting to him. The comedian went as far as to say that he “wanted to be wrong again, sometimes, instead of always being right.”

Charlie Murphy declares the show done; co-creator leaves

Date: Aug. 4, 2005

What Happened: In an interview with TV Guide, Chappelle’s Show collaborator Charlie Murphy declared the show dead in the water. “‘'Chappelle's Show' is over, man. Done," Murphy told the mag. "It took me a long time to be able to say those words, but I can say it pretty easy now because it's the truth. "I'm disappointed it ended the way it did, but I'm not angry with anybody. 'Chappelle's Show' was like the Tupac of TV shows. It came out, it got everybody's attention, it was a bright shining star, but it burned out and for some strange reason, it burned out quick."

Around the same time, the show’s co-creator, Neal Brennan, left the production, effectively putting the final nail in the coffin.

Chappelle clears the air with Oprah

Date: Feb. 3, 2006

What Happened: During an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Chappelle stated that his departure hinged around losing creative control, burnout, and an uncomfortable working environment. However, he said he’d be willing to produce the remainder of the third season if his demands—one of which was that half the show’s DVD sales would go to charity—would be met.

For context, even in 2004, the first season of Chappelle’s Show had sold 2 million units. That made it the best-selling DVD of all time, according to a USA Today report.

Chappelle’s ‘Inside the Actors Studio’ interview provides further context on departure

Date: Feb. 12, 2006

What Happened: In an interview on Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton, Chappelle stated that his father’s death also contributed to his departure. By throwing himself into the show’s production, he didn’t have time to process fully. “I would go to work on the show, and I felt awful every day, that's not the way it was … I felt like some kind of prostitute or something. If I feel so bad, why keep on showing up to this place? I'm going to Africa. The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself, especially when everybody is watching.”

Season 3’s “The Lost Episodes” air

Date: July 9, 2006

What Happened: Comedy Central decided to air the remaining episodes despite Chappelle’s warnings that he’d close the door on a return if they moved forward. Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings took over hosting duties for the final few in-studio recordings, with the last episode airing on July 23, 2006.

Chappelle signs Netflix deal

Date: Nov. 21, 2016

What Happened: Post-Chappelle’s Show, the comedian would mostly stay out of the public eye. In 2013, he toured where he famously left mid-show during an appearance in Hartford, Connecticut, after an audience member insisted on shouting Chappelle’s Show lines at him. Chappelle also headlined 10 night’s worth of shows at Radio City Music Hall in June of 2014.

A few weeks after hosting Saturday Night Live—for which he’d win an Emmy—it was announced that Chappelle had signed a deal with Netflix. The streaming services would release 3 new specials at the rate of $20 million per special.

First two Netflix specials are released

Date: March 21, 2017

What Happened: The first two specials—Deep in the Heart of Texas and The Age of Spin—debuted on Netflix on March 21, 2017. Coming from Chappelle’s personal vault, Texas was originally filmed in April 2015, while Spin was filmed in March 2016. Both marked Chappelle’s first concert specials in 12 years.

Netflix later stated that both Texas and Spin were the most-viewed specials in Netflix’s history. Additionally, both specials would go on to eventually win Grammy Awards.

Netflix expands deal, simultaneously releases third and fourth special

Date: Dec. 31, 2017

What Happened: Toward the end of December, Netflix announced that Chappelle would release four specials instead of three. The third, Dave Chappelle: Equanimity, was set to drop at the end of 2017 and was joined by a surprise fourth special called Dave Chappelle: The Bird Revelation.

Equanimity was filmed in Washington, D.C., while Bird taped in Los Angeles. Both specials would go on to win Grammy awards; Equanimity would win an Emmy. Critics were less enthusiastic, taking issue with how Chappelle’s comments about transgender men and women.

Netflix releases fifth special, ‘Sticks & Stones’

Date: Aug. 26, 2019

What Happened: Released in August 2019, Sticks & Stones marked the fifth collaboration between Netflix and Chappelle. Filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, the special would win another Grammy and another Emmy for the comedian.

Much like Equanimity and Bird, critics pushed back about the special’s content, specifically highlighting Chappelle’s approach to cancel culture and the #MeToo movement. Aja Romano of Vox said that the special made a point “of punching down” to mixed results.

Netflix releases ‘8:46’

Date: June 12, 2020

What Happened: Released via Netflix’s social media, 8:46 was an impassioned speech from Chappelle on the murder of George Floyd. Complex called the raw performance “a half-hour therapy session” and “heavy, poignant stuff—an unprecedented response during unprecedented times.” Re-watching it months later, it still resonates deeply. 

Netflix, HBO Max acquire licensing rights to ‘Chappelle’s Show’

Date: Oct. 30, 2020

What Happened: Towards the end of October, Netflix and HBO Max announced that both streaming services had acquired the licensing rights to Chappelle’s Show for both their platforms. For HBO Max, it marked a continuing relationship between WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS and expanded the amount of Comedy Central offerings on the service.

Chappelle mentions ‘Chappelle’s Show’ streaming on second 'Saturday Night Live' appearance

Date: Nov. 7, 2020

What Happened: In his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live, Chappelle makes mention of the fact that while Chappelle’s Show is now streaming on both Netflix and HBOMax and that “[I] didn’t get paid for any of it.”

The information came in the middle of a story about Chappelle’s great-grandfather, who was a freed slave that went on to have a career in the AME Church. After mentioning the streaming situation, Chappelle then remarks that his great-grandfather would probably think his great-grandson had been “bought and sold more times” than he had.

Chappelle blasts ViacomCBS over licensing

Date: Nov. 24, 2020

What Happened: In a video posted to his Instagram called “Unforgiven,” Chappelle took issue with ViacomCBS’ (Viacom and CBS merged in 2019) handling of streaming licensing for Chappelle’s Show. More specific and direct about the situation than his mention of it on SNL, Chappelle stated that while companies are free to lease shows however they see fit, they typically have to cut a check to the creatives once a deal occurs. Chappelle said that ViacomCBS has yet to do this, and those viewers who are streaming the show are “fencing stolen goods.”

“When I left that show, I never got paid. They (ViacomCBS) didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract,” Chappelle says. ”But is that right? I found out that these people were streaming my work, and they never had to ask me, or they never have to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right? I didn’t think so either.”

Chappelle goes out of his way to praise Netflix, saying that he asked the service to remove the show. “I like working for Netflix because when all those bad things happened to me, that company didn’t even exist,” said Chappelle. “And when I found out they were streaming Chappelle’s Show, I was furious. How could they not—how could they not know? So you know what I did? I called them, and I told them that this makes me feel bad. And you want to know what they did? They agreed that they would take it off their platform just so I could feel better.” The show is still available on HBOMax, CBS All Access, and Comedy Central’s website. 

It’s clear Chappelle’s Show was and continues to be a massive success for ViacomCBS even 15 years after it ended. But what the company can’t seem to understand that there is no Chappelle’s Show with Dave Chappelle. The show continues to endure all these years later because of Chappelle’s creative mind. It’s why Netflix wanted to work with him, and it’s why he’s continued to stay relevant all these years later. Why ViacomCBS can’t seem to understand this is, frankly, astonishing.

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Sure, that’s a clever axiom—but there’s truth to it as well. ViacomCBS misunderstood Chappelle once. If history has proven anything, it’s that Dave Chappelle will ultimately have the last laugh.

Web Essentials: 5 Must-Read Miles Morales Spider-Man Stories

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

New comic book characters debut all the time, but few of them break out and capture the public’s heart as much as Miles Morales. Created by Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli in 2011 as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint, Miles has transcended his comic origins to become the lead of his own animated movie (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and now a videogame (Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales) too.

According to then Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, Marvel had plans to introduce a Black Spider-Man around the 2008 election of President Obama but delayed to find a more thoughtful and natural approach to presenting the character. The idea popped up again during the famous #DonaldforSpiderman Twitter campaign that sought to cast multi-hyphenate Donald Glover as Peter Parker in Sony’s cinematic Spider-Man reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man. While Donald didn’t get the role, that didn’t stop Bendis from drawing inspiration from the campaign for the next phase of his run on the Ultimate Spider-Man title.

Marvel’s Ultimate imprint, originally started back in 2000, was a way to tell new and reimagined stories featuring classic Marvel characters. Divorced from decades of storytelling continuity, Ultimate Spider-Man was one of the line’s flagship titles for the innovative ways Bendis retold classic Spider-Man tales. However, change in comic books is commonplace, and imprint relaunches happen all the time. It provides publishers like Marvel with a new slate and allows a natural jumping-on point for new readers. In the wake of the Ultimate imprint event Fallout and the Death of Spider-Man, the Ultimate Marvel Universe version of Peter Parker died, leaving the world without a Spider-Man. Bendis used this opportunity to finally introduce Miles to the world. The character instantly resonated, bringing a whole new level of excitement to the Ultimate line.

With the release of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, we’re taking a look at Miles’ comic book origins and recommending five essential reads for those who can’t get enough of this truly amazing character. From the character’s earliest days to his latest ongoing adventures and plenty of dimensional travel in between, there’s a story for every fan of Miles.

'Ultimate Comics Spider-Man: Who is Miles Morales?' and 'Ultimate Comics Spider-Man: Scorpion'

Author: Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrator: Sara Pichelli

As mentioned earlier, the Death of Spider-Man event left the Ultimate Marvel Universe without a Spider-Man. The first five issues of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (written by Brian Michael Bendis, drawn by Sara Pichelli, with letters by Justin Ponsor) tell the story of Miles Morales and his rise to claim the mantle. A few months before Peter’s death, Brooklyn’s very own Miles had just won a lottery to attend a local charter school. Upon hearing the news, Miles visits his uncle, Aaron Davis, to share the good news. Unknown to Miles, Aaron moonlights as the villainous Prowler and has recently stolen research from big Spider-Man baddie Norman Osborn. During the heist, another genetically-altered spider crawled into Aaron’s bag, later emerging to bite Miles. You likely know the rest of the story: Miles not only gets his own version of spider-powers but gets new ones, too—including the ability to turn invisible and to release an electric power blast.

Outside of saving a woman from a burning building, Miles keeps his powers to himself until he sees the news that Spider-Man has died. Miles and his friend Ganke (who knows about Miles’ abilities) attend Peter’s funeral, where Miles is inspired to take the mantle. After a battle with Electro, Miles fully embraces the great power and great responsibility he has—emerging as the new Spider-Man.

In the Scorpion arc of the book, Miles comes face-to-face with Uncle Aaron’s Prowler. We included these first two storylines together because they trace similar beats to what audiences saw in Into the Spider-Verse. Sure, there might be some narrative overlap, but Bendis’ kinetic scripts and Pichelli’s staggeringly beautiful art render the events wonderfully and will make the story feel fresh and new again.

‘Spider-Men’

Author: Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrator: Sara Pichelli

Into the Spider-Verse’s dimensional traveling draws inspiration from another Brian Michael Bendis and Sarah Pichelli series: 2012’s Spider-Men. As the Peter Parker of the main Marvel Comics is web-swinging, he’s drawn to a mysterious light in the sky that turns out to be the work of Mysterio. During their battle, Peter is tossed through a portal the villain had opened, landing on top of a roof where he encounters Miles, who is shocked at a sudden reappearance of a thought-to-be-dead Peter Parker. The two must then work together to figure out how to return Peter back home.

Bendis nails the mentor/mentee relationship between Miles and Peter that Spider-Verse so expertly mined. However, while the movie focused more on Miles and his journey, Spider-Men gives equal weight to both, well, Spider-Men—especially as Peter encounters those who have been grieving his death in the Ultimate Universe. And as great as Pichelli’s work is in Ultimate Comics, she elevates her style once more and delivers some stunning and iconic visuals. This mini-series a must-read for any Spider-Man fan.

'Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man'

Author: Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrator(s): Sara Pichelli, Chris Samnee, David Marquez

Ahead of Marvel’s massive Secret Wars storyline, Marel relaunched the title relaunched as Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man. The series saw Miles juggle dating his girlfriend (the Ultimate Universe of Kate Bishop), attending school at the Brooklyn Visions Academy, joining the Ultimates roster, and fighting against the Green Goblin alongside Peter Parker?!

The mystery of Peter’s return is better left a secret for those who want to read the series. Still, it’s fun to see Bendis and artist David Marquez put Miles through a more traditional set of Spider-Man problems—balancing school, a love interest, and crime-fighting —ahead of the literal end of the universe in Marvel’s massive Secret Wars.

'Spider-Man' and 'Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a Tree'

Author(s): Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Latour
Illustrator(s): Sara Pichelli, Robbi Rodriguez

Following Secret Wars, which combined the regular Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe into one big reader-friendly world, 2016’s Spider-Man relaunch is a bold new direction. After years of being in the Ultimate Universe, Miles finally gets to hang out alongside Peter Parker, the Avengers, the X-Men, and other major characters we know and love. The first volume of the series sees Bendis team up with Pichelli again as Miles—and new readers—get accustomed to this new reality.

We’d recommend skipping the second volume, as it ties in heavily with the Civil War II event and head right into the highly entertaining crossover between Spider-Gwen and Spider-Man. Like Spider-Men before it, Spider-Verse pulls from this story as inspiration for the relationship between Gwen and Miles. Yes, it involves another trip for Miles through the Multiverse, but one that features surprisingly romantic results for our hero.

'Miles Morales: Straight Out of Brooklyn'

Author: Saladin Ahmed
Illustrator: Javier Garron

All good things must come to an end, and so Bendis passed the writing torch in 2018 to Hugo-award-winning writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Javier Garron. Ahmed is a perfect fit, infusing the book with narratives that speak to his multi-racial experience. The result makes the title feel even richer and builds upon the already strong foundation Bendis created.

Miles’ lack of work/life balance hits home in the first volume—Straight Out of Brooklyn—as Ahmed throws one obstacle after another at Miles. The Peter Paker version of Spider-Man has long moved past these kinds of issues, so it’s refreshing to have another Spider-Man comic to tackle the tried and true themes of balancing adolescence and superheroics. The first volume also features the Rhino as its primary villain; those lucky enough to get their hands on a PS5 will know the first part of the Spider-Man: Miles Morales videogame focuses on the bulking villain, perhaps in a nod to Ahmed’s run.

Extra Credit

Those who work their way through these stories and want more Miles should check out a few different titles. The previously mentioned Secret Wars (written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Esad Ribic, with letters by Chris Eliopoulos & Clayton Cowles) is more of an Avengers and Fantastic Four-heavy crossover but does feature Miles in a critical role closer towards the end of the event. Want to see Miles on an Avengers team? Check out 2015’s All-New, All-Different Avengers (written by Mark Waid, drawn by Adam Kubert & Mahmud Asrar, with letters by Cory Petit), which also features the Sam Wilson version of Captain America. In the wake of Civil War II, Miles quits the Avengers to co-found the Champions (written by Mark Waid, art by Humberto Ramos, and letters by Ferran Delgado) which is essentially Marvel’s version of the Teen Titans. Finally, the Spider-Men II (written by Bendis, art by Pichelli, and letters by Ponsor) mini-series sees Miles and Peter track down the main Marvel Universe’s version of Miles Morales, with surprising results. No matter what you choose, however, you’ll find amazing stories with one of comics’ single best characters awaiting at every page turn.

'Mank' is a Return to Form for David Fincher

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

"It isn't enough to tell us what a man did. You've got to tell us who he was.” This quote from 1941’s Citizen Kane smartly understands what makes for compelling writing and filmmaking, and it’s one of the strengths of Mank—David Fincher’s latest film and his first since 2014’s Gone Girl. Set for a limited theatrical run on November 13 before dropping December 4 on Netflix, this long-awaited return is cause enough to celebrate. But cinephiles have cause for great excitement, as The Social Network director turns his masterful lens to Old Hollywood. Mank charts the story of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, or Mank for short, and his journey to pen Citizen Kane for master filmmaker Orson Welles. Yes, the movie is a biopic—one that might be most relevant to Turner Classic Movie viewers and Criterion Channel subscribers. But Mank is also a David Fincher project, which means the entire endeavor has its individual pieces elevated into a more substantial, compelling whole.

Mank sets its gaze on the 60 days in which the titular writer (Gary Oldman) finds himself tasked with scripting Welles’ (Tom Burke) sprawling epic. Welles and producer John Houseman (Sam Troughton) sequester a recently-injured Mank on a quiet desert ranch outside of Los Angeles to ensure he follows through. German nurse Freda (Monika Grossman) and British typist Rita Alexander (Lily Collins) attend to the writer as he works. As the script comes together, the movie uses flashbacks—a direct homage to the narrative structure of Citizen Kane—to revisit his time writing for famed Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. These moments offer a window into Old Hollywood and its denizens, including authoritative MGM head Louis B. Mayer (Arliss Howard) as well as Mank’s frequent intersections with newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) and his wife Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried). Viewers of Citizen Kane will know Mank drew from his time with Hearst and Davies to inform the movie’s overall story and main characters.

Mank is a biopic, but one that’s aware of the limitations of the genre and actively works to transcend them. Biopics typically draw cynicism for their tendency to be too sprawling, award-bait-y, controlling estates, and desire to make their characters heroes. Fincher smartly avoids these trappings, thanks to an extremely focused script from his own father, Jack. Mank was originally set to be David Fincher’s follow-up after 1997’s The Game, but the project fell apart over the director’s insistence on shooting the film in black and white. Jack’s screenplay doesn’t hesitate to show not only Mank’s failings but the grueling machine that is moviemaking. Through a series of flashbacks, Mank fleshes out the inner workings of Classical Hollywood. The film’s opening third doesn’t skimp on showing lavish productions unfolding at MGM during Mank’s time there, ironically serving as a love letter to cinema in a year where we desperately need a reminder of the magic of movies.

But some things haven’t changed in the years following Hollywood’s Golden Age. Father Fincher’s script is fully aware of the less than rosy nature of the times and isn’t shy about shining a light on them: The Depression forces salary cuts. Hollywood elites mock Hilter’s early days and can’t comprehend the impending doom. Dinner conversations dovetail into heated debates about the nuances between communism and socialism. Capitalism proves to be quite a manipulating influence. Staunch principles lead to self-sabotage. There’s even a particularly nauseating election sequence that evokes the same anxiety many of us likely felt during the 2020 Election this week. Other biopics might go out of their way to highlight how these moments connect to today’s reality, but Mank is thankfully more subtle in its approach, as attentive viewers will naturally draw the comparison on their own.

David Fincher’s direction is known to bring the best out of a script, and it’s not surprising he’s able to elevate an archetypal biopic as well. He manages to further darken the shadows of Jack’s work, while also imbuing Mank with a certain joyousness I can’t say I’ve seen from him before. It’s clear Fincher loves this Golden Age as much as many fellow cinephiles do, and it quite literally shows. The early Old Hollywood sequences radiate loving adoration; Erik Messerschmidt’s cinematography lingers on production crew members, fanning out smoke for dramatic effect. Equally as impressive are the scenes set in William Randolph Heart’s palatial estate, which accurately convey the extravagant wealth. Whether it’s the spacious interiors or the on-grounds Zoo animals, it’s clear Hearst’s money had granted him the ability to live in a place that feels like a whole other planet—and one that’s certainly at stark odds from the Great Depression world lingering all around it.

As fun as these details are in micro, Fincher’s filmmaking helps to further evoke movies of the era. By Mank shooting entirely in black and white, the director pays loving tribute to Citizen Kane. Further flourishes add to the tone: Flashback transitions are accompanied by the sound and visual cue of a typewriter as if Rita Alexander herself was typing out the moment. While Fincher shot the movie digitally, he adds other little touches to evoke the feeling of watching a movie on celluloid including faux cigarette burns and sound effects meant to evoke changing of film reels—a move avid Fight Club fans should enjoy. While the result is a truly gorgeous movie, I wish Fincher had opted to actually shoot Mank on film. If there was ever a time to commit, a film about the making of Citizen Kane would undoubtedly qualify. Further adding to the realism of the period is Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ jazz-influenced score. This is the duo’s fourth time working with Fincher and their work provides a propulsive way of ushering scenes along.

For as masterful as the movie’s direction is, the cast is even better. Individual mileage may vary on Gary Oldman, but there’s no denying his performance as Mank is the perfect combination of actor and character. Mank is a lot of things—a court jester, a drunk, and a well-intentioned man—and Oldman disappears into the role with a striking amount of melancholy, charm, wit, and doggedness. The actor will once again be in the mix for an Oscar nomination, and it’ll certainly be well-earned. Despite being a movie about Citizen Kane, Tom Burke’s Orson Welles lingers on the periphery. When he does appear, it’s boisterous, and Burke sells the thunder exceedingly well. Cinephiles will know Louis B. Mayer was a right SOB, but Arliss Howard’s performance makes it clear for less-informed just how tyrannical the MGM studio head was in his dealings. Even a few attempts in the script to give her more agency, Tuppence Middleton’s role as Sara Mankiewicz is another entry into the thankless wife canon. Middleton’s performance is strong, but Mank isn’t about Sara. It’s a sadly frustrating function of these kinds of films, and I wish she had more to do.

The real standout, however, is Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies. Portraying a real-life person with as much charm as Davies had is difficult but Seyfried makes it look astonishingly easy, filling the frame with a natural magnetism. The actress also nails Davies’ inherent comedic nature, tapping into some of the same energy she’s brought to past work like Mean Girls. Above all, Seyfried makes you understand why Mank—and many others—were so enchanted by Davies.

Under David Fincher’s steady hand, Mank transcends its biopic status into something far more compelling. Fincher, ever loyal to himself, doesn’t hesitate to show the darker side of Hollywood, how it chews up and spits out so many who love it. But there’s also a surprising tone of admiration for movies executed as brilliantly as Citizen Kane. Moviemaking is hard. There’s no doubt Fincher (both father and son) realized this in the same way Herman J. Mankiewicz understood. Every once in a while, the magic of filmmaking does happen—and Mank shows how thrilling it is to pull off that trick.

Remembering Sean Connery, One of Our Greatest Movie Stars

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

For a certain subset of males around the globe, James Bond is the pinnacle of masculinity. His style and swagger have long served as an exceedingly aspirational template since his creation in 1953 by novelist Ian Fleming. Fleming may have made Bond a household name, but Sir Thomas Sean Connery made Bond a legend.

Connery, who passed today at the age of 90, was everything you could want and imagine from a movie star. It’s overwhelmingly cliché to say that they don’t make movie stars like Connery anymore, but there’s often truth in well-worn phrases: Connery created the mold of a modern action star. His inherent magnetism, rugged bravado, effortless wit, endless sex appeal, and an overwhelming sense of style form a totality that’s hard to top—certainly by Bond standards, let alone by modern performers. Connery’s impact lingers in the edges of every action performance, whether intentional or otherwise, to this day.

That’s the impact of being 007. It took a while for the Bond-producing duo of Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli to find their man for the character’s initial film, 1962’s Dr. No. The two considered Cary Grant, David Niven, and even a young Roger Moore before finding Connery. Legend has it that once Connery’s bodybuilder frame strutted across the camera lens, Broccoli’s wife Dana is to have said that Connery “moves like a panther.” It’s a note-perfect distillation of the alluring dualities of Bond: sleek and sturdy, playful but deadly, casual yet determined. I keep thinking about the poster for Dr. No and Connery’s visage upon it; there’s a sly grin as he grips his pistol, acknowledging the thrill of being both dangerous and in danger. However, the power of Connery was in how he rarely looked scared even when faced with insurmountable odds.

Some actors might have been content with playing Bond and then moving on, but Connery was determined to subvert expectations. While playing the spy, Connery worked with legendary directors like Alfred Hitchcock and Sidney Lumet to flesh out his portfolio outside of Bond. After 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, the actor joined with his close friend Michael Caine for a John Huston-directed adaptation of The Man Who Would Be King. Much like Connery himself, the sprawling epic is the kind of Old Hollywood production that doesn’t seem to exist anymore, full of magical moviemaking that’s since been lost to capes and cowls.

Connery’s superstar persona serves movies like Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables exceedingly well. In a quick two-minute clip, Connery leverages his megawatt charisma to sell the serious moral escalation of what it will take to hunt Al Capone effectively. Even among stars like Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, Patricia Clarkson, and Robert De Niro, it’s no surprise the former Bond stole the show—and walked away with an Academy Award win in the process. 

Even after an Oscar win, Connery wasn’t content to fade away. Of course, he’d be the father of Indiana Jones, as The Last Crusade seemed to mark the passing of the torch from one action icon to another. Yet even then, Connery continued, with stellar turns in The Hunt for Red October and Michael Bay’s The Rock, wherein he famously told the director to “go blow up a bridge” after offering the actor a note. Connery’s last role, in 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, was ill-received but still managed to show the actor’s insightful ability to stay relevant. Released a few years ahead of the comic book and IP-driven future of Hollywood, the movie served as the beginning of the end of traditional Hollywood stardom—the very same X factor that made Connery a household name decades earlier. It’s incredibly tragic he decided to retire after, as his presence would have significantly elevated dozens of movies in the intervening years.

It’s been an exceedingly challenging year. Connery’s passing only adds to the pain we all feel. But, man—what a life, what a talent, and what a star. We should consider ourselves lucky to have been privy to its brightness for so long. Sure, Connery’s death hurts—but the great thing about legends is that they never really die.

'The Mandalorian' Hyperdrives Deeper Into 'Star Wars' Universe in Season 2 Premiere

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

When The Mandalorian first premiered last year, it caught viewers by surprise. Sure, the trailers and pre-show conversation around the Jon Favreau-helmed series gave the audience an idea of its Western-influenced roots. But the real surprise—Baby Yoda!—was left until the premiere’s final few seconds. Now, a full season later, The Mandalorian doesn’t have quite the same element of shock as it had when it debuted, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t find new ways to be exciting. 

Anyone who thought The Mandalorian’s Season 2 premiere, titled "The Marshal," might try and ease new watchers into its world are in for a rude awakening. The episode picks up in media res after the first season’s finale events with titular Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) on the hunt for information that could lead him to another underground network of Mandalorians. The tip sends him, and us, back to the start of Star Wars—and brings its own level of wonders worthy of George Lucas’ original movies.

[Ed Note: While spoilers for this week's episode of The Mandalorian will be kept to a minimum, the best way to not get spoiled is to not go any further until you've watched the Season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian on Disney+.]

We knew there was unfinished business on Tatooine. Between the stinger at the end of Season 1’s “The Gunslinger” and a few shots included in the trailer for Season 2, it was only a matter of time before The Mandalorian headed back to the galaxy’s favorite wasteland planet. I didn’t anticipate it to occur quite so soon, however. The initial return to Luke Skywalker’s home planet last season was an inspired inversion: a cantina full of patrons in the movies was instead empty when Mando visited. A mysterious hotshot didn’t have the right stuff to blast away an enemy and instead needed Mando’s help. Tuskan Raiders weren’t a threat but rather a helpful resource. If “The Gunslinger” was a creative rejection of what we’d anticipate from a Star Wars show revisiting one of its most iconic planets, “The Marshal” fully embraces the franchise’s storied history with Tatooine. Which means, yes, Boba Fett is back. Well, sort of.

While it may first appear as if the famed bounty hunter has returned, it’s revealed to be the official live-action inclusion of Cobb Vanth. Played by Deadwood and Justified actor Timothy Olyphant, Vanth originally appeared in the Star Wars: Aftermath novel series. While his origins in The Mandalorian differ slightly from Aftermath, the core is essentially the same: Vanth claims Boba Fett’s armor to protect his town in the wake of the Empire’s defeat on Endor. Vanth's a Mandalorian in armor only, which allows him to freely remove his helmet and lets Olyphant’s natural cool charisma flow free—a skill he used to significant effect playing another marshal in Justified. Olyphant’s charm is a welcome contrast against Mando’s self-seriousness as the two work alongside Tuskan Raiders and Vanth’s town residents to take down the huge, sand-dwelling Krayt dragon.

The circumstance around the Krayt dragon takedown ultimately feels somewhat similar to the Seven Samurai inspired riff of last season’s “Sanctuary.” Still, the difference here is the impressive scale of it all. The Mandalorian hasn’t skimped on big moments, but the entire sequence plays like an actual setpiece you’d see in, well, a Star Wars movie. Whether or not the show can keep this momentum moving forward will remain to be seen, but it’s an encouraging development right out of the gate.

I’m still a little bullish on how well The Mandalorian seems to be balancing the inclusion of more outside lore. “The Marshal” sidelines Baby Yoda for a majority of the episode to focus on Vanth-related events. Sure, “The Marshal” still feels episodic in the way that fits the series, but I was hoping to see more of how the relationship between Mando and Baby Yoda had evolved in our time away from the show. It’s a bit of a letdown and makes me concerned about how much fan-favorite Ashoka Tano might overpower The Mandalorian when she ends up appearing. That’s to say nothing of—MAJOR SPOILER ALERT—Boba Fett’s reemergence in the very last seconds of the premiere. Sure, it’s exciting to see someone from the original movie trilogy make their appearance in the show, but I don’t want it to diminish everything else that makes The Mandalorian work so well.

Despite some minor quibbles, “The Marshal” signals an entertaining return and a promising start for The Mandalorian’s sophomore outing. If the show can keep up this newfound scale throughout the rest of the season, we’re in for quite the ride. Sure, The Mandalorian might not be able to surprise us like it initially did. Instead, its focus is now on telling the most exciting and compelling story possible. In this regard, the Season 2 premiere delivers. 

The Mandalorian Is Star Wars That Haters Can Love

This article originally appeared on GQ.com

The Mandalorian is now a massive mainstream hit, but it’s easy to forget that the series was not necessarily a sure thing. Yes, launching Disney+ with a TV show associated with one of the most successful movie series of all time is an obvious move, but Disney’s previous extensions of the Star Wars franchise were an absolute rollercoaster: A start full of promise ultimately concluded with a whimper that left plenty of road bumps along the way, including disappointing spinoffs. The Mandalorian, which returns this Friday for a second season, succeeds precisely because it leaves all that operatic source material behind.

The show is basically a space western: there’s a heist, a Magnificent Seven/Seven Samurai-inspired riff on protecting a defenseless town from enemy invaders, plenty of gunfights, and bounty hunting. Gone are the galactic wars, the Skywalker family tree, the good vs. evil battle between the Jedi and the Sith -- all the tiresome, endlessly picked-over, self-serious drama that Disney decided to rehash yet again in its movies. Instead, our nameless bounty hunter spends his time rubbing shoulders with the denizens of a grimy underworld while having utterly no idea who Luke, Leia, and Han are. Blissful relief! The Mandalorian’s eight-episode first season feels more in line with old Buck Rodgers and Flash Gordon serials, two touchpoints that inspired Lucas when creating the very first Star Wars back in ‘77.

The Mandalorian’s clever relationship to the original franchise is best exemplified by Baby Yoda, who became the kind of instant, organic, ubiquitous meme that giant entertainment conglomerates can only dream of. Baby Yoda is familiar enough to keep hardcore fans intrigued, and cute enough to pull in a new generation. He’s not just a propulsive plot device, he’s also a litmus test: If you love Baby Yoda, you’ll probably dig the rest of the series, which incorporates elements of a show like Lone Wolf and Cub into its space western vibe. Protecting Baby Yoda establishes smaller and more personable stakes. The Mandalorian isn’t about saving the day, a world, or even the galaxy; it’s about protecting a child. In a universe populated by strange aliens and complicated history, what’s more straightforward and human than the paternal instinct?

Divorcing itself from nine different Skywalker movies has made the show stronger, not weaker. So a handful of casting announcements for the second season signaling the inclusion of deep Star Wars lore are cause for some concern -- adding a beloved character like Ahsoka Tano is excellent fan service for those who’ve spent years reading Wookiepedia, sure, but could it mean some sort of complicated tie-in with previous plotlines? Fortunately, trailers for Season 2 suggest the focus will remain on the relationship between Baby Yoda and Mando. Even as the galaxy continues to broaden, The Mandalorian shouldn’t lose focus on what makes it work so well. Let’s not go back to the days when The Rise of Skywalker actively worked to undo new story arcs from the previous movies because its writers were unsure of taking a bold new stance.

For decades, the name Star Wars has signaled a very particular kind of story. The Mandalorian has shifted those notions and demonstrated just how willing audiences are to go along with something else — especially something that skips weighty continuity in favor of simple action and suspense narratives. The show has found a balance between the past and present — not unlike the way Anakin Skywalker brought balance to the Force.

Couch Review: 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

I would imagine the most ardent fans of Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat scratched their heads when news of a sequel trickled out earlier this summer. Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 social satire feels like a lifetime ago, with its lasting impact reduced to memeification. The biggest question facing a follow-up seemed to hinge around whether or not it’d be able to chart new territory 14 years later. Turns out the truly unprecedented events of this year yielded the exact conditions needed for a compelling sequel.

The plot of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan—its full title, out now on Amazon Prime—matters only in the broadest sense. Upon returning from the events of the first movie, Borat’s actions overseas have embarrassed his home country of Kazakhstan. His punishment comes in the form of a sentence to a lifetime of hard labor—until he receives a shot at redemption. Having familiarity with the U.S., Borat is tasked to bring a gift in the form of a celebrity monkey to Vice President Mike Pence to restore Kazakhstan’s standing with America. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the monkey doesn’t make it alive. So Borat’s estranged, 15-year-old daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova, providing a masterful and fearless comedic performance), who has stowed away on the trip over, becomes the gift instead.

As Borat works to ready Tutar for Pence, the film becomes a two-hander as they explore contemporary America under Trump and creates situation after situation for Americans to comedically embarrass themselves on camera once again: A bakery worker doesn’t flinch when asked to write “Jews will not replace us” on top of a cake. A dress shop owner audibly laughs when Borat asks for a “No means yes” option. A father at a Georgia debutante ball willingly offers a price of “$500” when asked how much Tutar is worth. While these moments sometimes linger for too long, they hammer home the notion that America hasn’t changed a damn bit since 2006.

If anything, things have gotten worse. The movie’s middle section sees Borat spending time with QAnon believers and COVID skeptics who actively sing about wishing the virus on journalists. It’s still scary to see those beliefs openly vocalized, yet they pale in comparison to the horror of Rudy Giuliani’s involvement. The sequence is somehow even worse than first detailed; the former mayor is ghoulish in his actions and demeanor. No amount of damage control will be able to spin away the events once you’ve seen them in full. In a just world, Giuliani would never be heard from again. We don’t live in that reality, sadly. If we did, we wouldn’t have the conditions that allow Subsequent Moviefilm to not only exist—but to flourish.

Therein lies the brilliance of Subsequent Moviefilm. Cohen, Bakalova, director Jason Woliner, and the scriptwriting team manage to engineer a comedy that fully embraces, head-on, the reality of this particular moment. What unfolds is a sequel that transcends its predecessor’s legacy of well-worn quotes into something that feels like it could be the comedic masterwork of the Trump presidency. If this presidency has provided a platform for racists, bigots, and others to freely tout their beliefs, it’s also allowed an environment for Cohen to be fearless in his exposition of America. We thought Borat had nothing left? It turns out the joke is on us.

Couch Review: 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Leave it to a historical, political, and legal drama to bring out some of Aaron Sorkin’s best work. The Trial of the Chicago 7—formerly a Paramount Pictures release sold to Netflix in the wake of COVID-19—is filled with The West Wing creator’s favorite topics: progressive ideologies, the importance of democracy, the triumph of rightness, the value of good trouble—all those facets, and more, are on display as the movie reminds the audience that the “whole world is watching.” In short, Trial is about what you’d expect from an Aaron Sorkin project.

As evidenced by its namesake, Trial focuses on the titular Chicago 7—Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch), Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), John Froines (Daniel Flaherty), Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins)—and the U.S. federal government’s 1969 court case against them. The full list of the group’s charges included conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other offenses related to anti-Vietnam War and counterculture protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Included alongside the seven is Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) for reasons I’ll get into later. Rounding out the cast are the 7’s lawyer William Kunstler (Mark Rylance), a real dirty, old bastard in Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella), and opposing counsel Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

That’s a lot of setting up for a movie focused almost exclusively on the effect rather than the cause, but Sorkin wrangles the why of it all rather deftly; a crackling opening prologue quickly introduces Hoffman et al. and contextualizes their individual philosophies alongside archival footage of the tumultuous events of 1968: growing anti-Vietnam War feelings, the assassinations of both MLK and Bobby Kennedy, and the eventual protests at the DNC. Even the most half-awake of political observers will naturally draw comparisons between the social events of 1968 and 2020. Yet Sorkin being Sorkin means the subtext is text; the previously quoted “the whole world is watching” is heard as Hoffman and Rubin enter the courthouse—but certainly wouldn’t be out of place among the rallying cries heard over this last summer.

Sorkin’s tendency for self-indulgence and navel-gazing isn’t as bad in Trial as it is in, let’s say, this moment from The Newsroom, but nor is it as restrained as it was in The Social Network. The tone falls somewhere in the middle; Daniel Pemberton’s score peaks during the moments in which Sorkin wants you to understand that something is important with a capital I. Outside of those moments and a few key exchanges, Trial otherwise avoids Sorkin’s propensity to preach at viewers and explain how he—a white, male, liberal with the benefit of hindsight—would have handled the situation. Once the propulsive opening is complete, the movie turns its focus to the trial. Like The Social Network, Trial uses the testimony as a framing device to intersperse the protests’ actual events to paint a fuller picture of the whys and wherefores of it all. While his first directorial effort (2017’s Molly’s Game) didn’t feature much in the way of “action” sequences, Trial lets Sorkin tinker with massive setpieces hinged around critical moments of the protests. He executes these moments surprisingly well. It’s a part of his filmmaking I’m excited to see grow with more practice.

Historically, Sorkin's action comes from his rapid-fire, witty dialogue, and Trial doesn’t disappoint there either. A crackling, smart, and often wry script (insofar as a script about a monumental court case can be) finds a perfect match in a strongly assembled cast. The two immediate standouts are Jeremy Strong and Sacha Baron Cohen; as the hippie (read: radical leftist) contingent, the duo of Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman come into direct conflict with Eddie Redmayne’s Tom Hayden and his more subdued approach. Trial leverages Cohen’s comedic prowess to fully channel Hoffman’s anti-establishment prankster-vibes while also proving he’s capable of seriousness when the moment calls for it. Overall, he’s good enough to garner some serious awards consideration—especially in a less than stacked competition year. Fans of Strong know he’s a chameleon in all of his roles. He’s able to execute not only Rubin’s bohemian tendencies but also imbues the character with a profound amount of empathy. Mark Rylance, acting stalwart that he is, shows up and knocks every one of his scenes out of the park. As Tom Hayden, Redmayne feels slightly out of place. Part of it is the script; much of Hayden’s more centrist ideology causes him to be a natural foil to Rubin and Hoffman and thus a wet blanket to their progressive ideas. Redmayne sells his big monologue when the moment counts but feels slightly inert otherwise.

I have mixed feelings about Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s involvement—and most of it comes from Sorkin’s desire to stay as historically accurate as possible. Bobby Seale’s inclusion in the actual court case is notably suspect from the beginning; he’s joined to the others as a way to connect the Black Panther Party to the protests, leading to a stronger conviction for all. Historical fact constrains Sorkin’s script, resulting in a thinly-written character unworthy of the superlative Mateen—especially in the wake of his Emmy Award-winning work on Watchmen. But Mateen crushes the little he does have to do, including dramatizing one of the most heinous acts to ever happen in a U.S. courtroom. I wish Sorkin had found more space to let one of Complex’s favorites shine.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is Sorkin at his most Sorkin-y—both good and bad. The movie isn’t a cinematic revolution reflective of the change many of its protagonists so deeply desire. But it is a compelling and promising continuation for the writer/director, one that leaves me eager to see how he’ll continue to grow and develop as a filmmaker. In that regard, The Trial of the Chicago 7 proves that much like America, Sorkin is still a work in progress.

'The Social Network' Tried to Warn Us

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Making a movie about Facebook seemed like a baffling choice in 2010. A decade ago, the social media platform was in its halcyon days, a few years out from moving past its invite-only exclusivity, CEO Mark Zuckerberg focused on leveraging his website as the way to connect people across the globe. It was a site for people to stay in touch, share photos, relive moments, figure out if that person in your chemistry class was dating someone, talk about your day, and more. Facebook was, in a sense, pure—insofar as the Internet can be pure. It was hard to comprehend what a “Facebook movie” might even look like, let alone who would write, direct, and star in such a project.

Those concerns seem quaint now. A full decade out from its initial release, The Social Network not only continues to hold but somehow becomes even better with age. The David Fincher-directed, Aaron Sorkin-scripted, Jesse Eisenberg-, Andrew Garfield-, Justin Timberlake-, and Armie Hammer-starring film is a Shakespearian look at friendship, loyalty, jealousy, class, betrayal, power, creation, the desire for connection, and so much more. In my estimation, the movie is a masterpiece and the defining cinematic work of the last decade, offering a prescient look into the future of American society.

The Social Network’s legendary status starts with an atypical creative pairing. Uncompromising visionary David Fincher is one of our foremost purveyors of perverts, diving deep into the pitch-dark soul of the white American male (Fight Club is perhaps the most fitting example of this). Aaron Sorkin infamously detests the internet with a special kind of fury and has carved his legacy as one of America’s biggest mansplainers of how things should really go. Fincher’s dark attitude and Sorkin’s over-the-top tendencies seem intrinsically at odds with one another. Yet, in these two seemingly dissimilar talents, there’s harmony: the two, dueling depositions Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) finds himself in—one with his best friend (Garfield) and one with his competition (Hammer)—give Sorkin his beloved courtroom setting and rapid-fire dialogue and serve as a foundation for Fincher to build a propulsive machine around. In turn, Fincher plays into the dark tones of the story—the desire for connection, the power struggle, the betrayal of a close friend—which helps to sand the edges off Sorkin’s inclination to overdo. These big ideas unfold across stark contrasts of old and new money. Mahogany backrooms of East Coast elites seem eerily dark against the crystal-clear windows of Silicon Valley, while Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ kinetic score pulses along in the background. These pieces form the whole, resulting in a narrative as shockingly compelling as the power struggle at the heart of Facebook’s origin.

At the heart of it all, of course, is Mark Zuckerberg. As portrayed by Eisenberg, Zuckerberg’s character is a creep and a weirdo—a fact made known from the needle-drop (remember when slowed-down song covers were a novelty?) in the film’s very first trailer. Fincher, Sorkin, and Eisenberg’s take on Zuckerberg is deeply Machiavellian, a radical departure from the perceived dweebish, deer-in-the-headlights reality of the actual Zuckerberg. Eisenberg infuses the character with an air of superiority; more often than not, the character is merely tolerating the events around him long enough to get back to his computer where he’s in control. At the time of The Social Network’s release, Zuckerberg’s public persona was still enigmatic, making it easier to accept the character as canon. Creation myths do need their devil, and Eisenberg is more than willing to be his advocate.

As for the devil, it might as well be Timberlake’s Sean Parker. The casting of one of our generation's top pop stars as Napster’s founder is perhaps the film’s most overt and winking juxtaposition. Still, Timberlake’s inherent showmanship dovetails nicely with Parker’s used car salesman vibe. Once Timberlake fully enters the picture into the second hour of the film, he threatens to wrestle the story away in the same way his character seeks to work his way into Facebook.com.

While he was still a few years away from becoming Sony’s (Amazing) Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield immediately jumps off the screen in The Social Network. The (then) relatively unknown British talent infuses the film’s version of Eduardo Saverin full of electric charisma. Garfield’s Saverin is so carefree, so fun to watch, that it makes you wonder why he’s hanging out with the perpetual wet blanket that is Zuckerberg. This chill fades away when it needs to, as Garfield convincingly sells Saverin’s careen into fury; his final scene remains one of the movie’s most quotable and rewatchable moments due to how well the actor conveys his character’s caged anger. It’s a performance that signaled Garfield as one of our generation’s most interesting actors, a reputation he’s embraced as he’s bounced from one wild project to another in the wake of The Amazing Spider-Man’s failure.

Hammer’s dual Winklevii performance continues to impress even a decade later. The film’s best special effect, the Winklevoss twins, is famously portrayed by the actor in a bit of CGI trickery that’s virtually seamless. As avatars of old-money influence and privilege, the Winklevii straddle the line between enterprising young men and male Karens—they don’t hesitate to literally call for their daddy when they realize Zuckerberg has duped them. Despite the characters’ pretentious douchebaggery, Fincher and Sorkin seem to have a profound admiration for Hammer, giving him not only some of the movie’s best one-liners but one of the movie’s most impressive cinematic moments, too.

The Social Network’s other memorable moment solidified Rooney Mara as one of our best new talents. Despite her limited screen time, Mara’s Erica Albright is a ghostly presence that haunts the film’s entire run time. The infamous 99-take opening scene might as well be a tennis match; it’s certainly shot, written, and performed as an escalating series of verbal volleys. Not only does it teach the audience how to watch the rest of the movie but serves, in miniature, as the movie’s larger thesis to the world.

While Albright’s “you’re an asshole” closer is entirely fiction, the horror at the core of Facebook’s creation is decidedly real. A dastardly, misogynistic night in Kirkland House is more than just a skeleton in the company’s closet, with Fincher and Sorkin realizing from the start the core of Facebook was rotten. If anything, with the benefit of hindsight, The Social Network's searing critique doesn't go far enough in its treatment of Zuckerberg. It’s unsurprising that a platform built on such awful foundations has descended into spreading disinformation and evil conspiracy theories in 2020. Zuckerberg continues to reject Facebook’s culpability as a home for these horrid ideas, playing the middle to maximize profits for himself. While other platforms have made small strides in stopping alt-right ideologies and QAnon, Facebook hasn’t acted at all, letting the group flourish through inaction. The Social Network couldn’t have predicted these specific outcomes, but the movie certainly provided critical insight into how these toxic traits have been allowed to linger for so long. In reality, Zuckerberg will tell you he’s not the loner who creates with reckless abandon. Still, those words ring hollow as the CEO continues to be incapable of realizing the full consequences of his actions.

When not bleeding over into the real world, The Social Network has left a considerable footprint in the film industry. Eisenberg, Garfield, Hammer, and Mara have all gone on to have flourishing careers—finding success in smaller dramas such as The Art of Self-Defense, Under the Silver Lake, Call Me By Your Name, and A Ghost Story, respectively. Attempts at headlining franchise fare such as Batman v. Superman, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Lone Ranger, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo have worked to varying degrees. All this talk of IP is fitting, however, as The Social Network signaled the beginning of the end for the big theatrical drama. In 2010, we were still a few years away from the superhero movie’s box office stranglehold, meaning there was still a space for splashy dramas. In subsequent years, Hollywood’s desire to turn everything into a franchise has pushed many prestige dramas to streaming services, where the financial expectations aren’t so burdensome. Both Fincher and Sorkin will have fall 2020 releases on Netflix; Mank is Fincher’s story about the making of Citizen Kane (which will make for a great double-feature with The Social Network), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 sees Sorkin return to courtroom drama, where he first cut his theatrical teeth. Streaming services allow both creatives the freedom not to be concerned about shoehorning IP into something palatable for massive audiences. Notably, the storytellers behind one of the most prolific movies about the internet are now making movies for the internet—just goes to show you how dramatically Hollywood can change in a decade.

So much has changed for Facebook and The Social Network in the last 10 years. The skepticism the movie once faced at every turn is now long gone. What remains is a totemic achievement, a 21st-century Citizen Kane, and infamy worthy of the platform its story chronicled. How do you separate truth from lies when it comes to the real story? As the company continues to make headlines year after year, it’s clear you can’t. The legacies of both Facebook and The Social Network are intrinsically tied closer and closer together.

What 'Tenet' Taught Us About Moviegoing During a Pandemic

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Tenet was supposed to be the chosen one. After months without a new theatrical release due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Christopher Nolan’s latest and greatest was the foundation upon which the future hopes and dreams of the theatrical experience were built. Not unlike Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino, Nolan himself is a brand; a household name studios like Warner Bros. can leverage to draw moviegoers—both casual and hardcore—to theaters to great financial success. It was a smart business strategy to have a known quantity like Nolan and Tenet be the movie to open back up theaters (which is why it was delayed many times). The marketing wrote itself: Big movies are back! It’s safe to return to theaters! See Nolan’s film the way it was meant to be seen! Or so we thought.

Since its September 3 release, Tenet has earned $36.1 million at the domestic box office. To contextualize this further, Nolan’s previous film, Dunkirk, earned $50.5 million in its opening weekend. Analyzing typical box office results to pandemic box office performance is an inscrutable task. Much like COVID-19 in general, there’s simply not a precedent to draw upon during unprecedented times. Nevertheless, there are a few factors at play here that have inherently limited the ceiling Tenet’s box office performance from the onset. Examining them as individual pieces of a whole provides a larger clarity of how the odds were stacked against the movie from the very beginning.

Location, location, location

Not only is this a key tenant (pun intended) of business strategy, but a limiting factor in the movie’s overall performance. There’s a reason independent movies, like those seen from A24, typically hit New York City and Los Angeles in the first weekend of release: they’re the two largest movie markets in the country. Theaters in those two cities are still closed and look to be for the foreseeable future. Releasing a new movie into the wild, without those markets there for support, places you with an uphill battle from the get-go before you bring the ‘rona of it all into the equation.

The theaters that are open face challenges, too.

Before you consider the fact that indoor spaces are higher-risk for transmission of COVID than outdoor spaces, chains themselves are essentially operating with one hand tied behind their back. Reduced seating capacity widely varies depending on the city, essentially hard-capping the revenue that Tenet could garner.

Assuming all things were equal to, let’s say, Dunkirk’s opening weekend’s performance, the maximum Warner Bros. could have seen from Tenet with a 50% capacity, was $25 million opening weekend. That’s not bad for a pandemic, but it’s certainly not what you want if you’re used to seeing Nolan films be huge cash cows.

Global returns, however, have been a bit more generous. According to Deadline, this past weekend, the Japanese market opened Tenet, boosting the worldwide gross to about $250 million. That’s still a drop in the bucket relative to past Nolan flicks’ performance and makes it so the movie has narrowly made back its production budget of $205 million.

What could the future hold for the box office?

While conventional wisdom would lead you to believe we might start to see diminishing financial returns, the pandemic is working in Tenet’s favor here. After Disney pushed the release of Black Widow to 2021, the next major release is No Time to Die on November 20, which means there’s plenty of time for the movie to hang around in theaters and drum up funds for Warner Bros. should it continue to play theaters between now and then. After No Time to Die, the only other major release we’re seeing in 2020 will be Dune on December 18. Considering that experts anticipate COVID will worsen as the season transitions, I’m not sure those dates will hold. That doesn’t even take into account Disney doing something along the lines of Mulan and just sending future releases to Disney+ Premier Access.

The financial reality surrounding Tenet, not unlike the events of the movie itself, verges on paradoxical. Studios need money to continue to make and release films. Movie theater chains need movies to screen to survive. Hardcore moviegoers want to see a movie in a theater, the way it was meant to be seen, but not in a way that risks their health and safety. Sure, PVOD can help studios make money, but it’s not a foolproof solution. There’s no right or wrong answer. Instead, it’s a vicious circle—one with no great solution that benefits everyone. Not unlike Tenet, this whole box office situation is something we’re all just having to feel our way through.

Couch Review: 'Fargo,' Year 4

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Noah Hawley’s Fargo on FX has always been about history. Whether it’s the previous relationship audiences have with the Joel and Ethan Coen movie the show was adapted from, or even the way the anthology series has engaged with itself over the last three installments, Fargo has been keenly aware of the preconceived notions audiences automatically have about it just by merely existing. Fargo (the show) has mostly stuck to the "formula" of what audiences expect from this specific kind of Midwestern crime series. That is, until now.

The excellent fourth installment (critics were sent nine of Season 4’s 11 episodes; I’ve watched them all) [Ed note: Obviously, spoiler alert for Season 4 of Fargo from now on] of Hawley’s movie-to-television adaptation of Fargo (which airs its two-part premiere on September 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT) isn’t so much about a murder gone awry as it is a battle between the past and present over what it means to be an American on the precipice of a bold new future. It also inverts many of the established troupes we’ve seen in the past: The show opens not in that titular city, nor with the frozen tundras of the Coen Bros. movie. Instead, we start in Kansas City, Missouri, during the last gasps of the fall of 1950. It switches three series’ worth of white cop protagonists for a crew of enterprising Black mobsters led by Chris Rock. The head cop with a moral compass (Jack Huston) is about as ineffective as stupidly tragic lowlifes that have populated the series in years past. The balance of morality is instead a child (E’myri Crutchfield) and an Irishman (Ben Whishaw). Dueling hitmen are instead female outlaws (Kelsey Asbille and Karen Aldridge)—on and on the inversions continue.

While Hawley’s latest installment is set 70 years in America’s past, it’s a story that will resonate just as much today. Rock’s Loy Cannon is smart and successful but realizes he’s hit the ceiling on how far he can take his ambitious criminal empire due to his skin color. This sets Cannon down a tenuous path with the Italian Fadda gang and involves a crushing sacrifice to keep the peace between them. Yes, Fargo Season 4 doesn’t shy away from fully incorporating and exploring the 1950s’ racial, immigrant and social politics. While the show’s superlative sophomore season charted similar territory with Bokeem Woodbine’s Mike Milligan, Hawley dives deeper into exploring the issues with a surprising amount of nuance and grace. And while this exploration of race doesn’t quite hit Watchmen-levels, it’s a breath of fresh air for a show that has been decidedly white up in previous iterations. In fact, between Rock’s Cannon, his supporting cast of confidants, and Emyri Crutchfield as the daughter of an interracial family (played by musician Andrew Bird and Anji White), this is the most diverse Fargo has ever been—and the show is all the stronger for it. This extends behind the scenes too, as Hawley brought in a broad group of voices, including Stefani Robinson (of Atlanta and What We Do in the Shadows fame), into the writer’s room this year to bring this story to life.

The characters of Fargo have always been particularly memorable and well-cast, and Year 4 doesn’t disappoint. Jason Schwartzman gets to put his years of work in the Wes Anderson repertory school to great use as Josto Fadda, second-in-command of the Fadda gang. Emyri Crutchfield’s Ethelrida Smutney is sharp and brilliant in equal measure. Character actor Glynn Turman is superlative as Cannon’s righthand man Doctor Senator (don’t worry, there’s a creative explanation for his name). Other characters take a little more time to find their footing: Jack Huston’s twitchy Detective Odis Weff takes until about the halfway mark to click, as does Timothy Olyphant’s Dick ‘Deafy’ Wickware, a U.S. Marshal who would find the behavior of Olyphant’s previous television lawman absolutely abhorrent. Neither of them is as off-the-mark as Carrie Coon’s Gloria Burgle in Year 3, but some viewers might find their patience tested in the early stages.

The real powerhouses performances come from a not entirely unsurprising trio; Rock, as mentioned above, is absolutely dynamite, filling the screen with an intensity and hunger I’ve never seen from him before. He’s going to get all sorts of accolades for his performance—and rightfully so—as every moment he’s not on the screen, I eagerly waited for his return. I was also particularly taken with Ben Whishaw’s Rabbi Milligan, whose last name should cause previous Fargo watchers to perk their ears up a bit. I’m shamefully not familiar with the bulk of Whishaw’s television work and instead had to rely on the somewhat muted performance he’s given as Q in Skyfall and Spectre. In Fargo, he’s a revelation. Not since Matthew Rhys’ sunken and sullen face have I seen an actor capable of conveying canyons of pain with just a look.

However, the breakout for many viewers is going to be Jessie Buckley. As Minnesota transplant nurse Oraetta Mayflower, Buckley’s character is better left experienced in real-time—but now upfront she’s doing something extraordinary here. Those who loved her work in Wild Rose and the recently released I’m Thinking of Ending Things know what she’s capable of, but watching her act like watching Lu Dort go for 30 a few weeks ago against the Houston Rockets; it’s a star-making performance, one so committed, unhinged, and kinetic that you won’t be able to stop watching. If she’s not on the shortlist for a major Hollywood franchise movie by the end of this season, I’ll be legitimately shocked.

Around the season’s halfway mark, a character asks, “Do you know why America loves a crime story?” The answer: “Because America is a crime story.” Fargo, in all of its iterations, has always held this belief at its core. By placing crime in such sharp focus in its fantastic fourth year, Fargo reminds us America’s real past is never as far behind as we believe it to be. Noah Hawley’s focus this year is on deconstructing America and the preconceived notions of our country as an ideal, shining beacon on a hill. In this way, watching this season of Fargo is a bit like a looking glass. And as with all reflections, we might not like the truth of what’s staring back at us.

What We Learned From DC's FanDome Announcements

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Without a traditional San Diego Comic-Con this year (canceled because of you-know-what) to showcase a bunch of new projects, Warner Bros. and DC decided to take matters into their own hands and set up a brand new virtual event for fans. Called the DC FanDome (get it, fandom?), the live experience featured a series of Zoom panels with the cast and creative talent behind the scenes of anticipated movies like The Batman, Wonder Woman 1984, the Snyder Cut of Justice League, and more.

FanDome successfully translated what it’s like to sit through panels at Comic-Con, while also packing the day’s events full of new announcements, trailers, and footage for DC’s entire cinematic slate from now well into 2022. For the first time since the end of Justice League, the future of the DCEU is starting to come into focus—and it’s an exciting time, full of promise.

A lot of info and teases were given out, so instead of sifting through it all across different articles, we’re here to break down all the highlights in one place and contextualize a few things along the way. Let’s dive in below.

'Wonder Woman 1984'

“I really think the movie is so great on the big screen...We’re going to stick it out, and we believe in putting it in the cinema.” That’s how Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins started the virtual panel for the COVID-19 delayed sequel. Much like Warner Bros. has a continued commitment to ensuring Tenet makes a theatrical window,  so too will Wonder Woman 1984. While the complete cast—Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal, and Kristen Wiig—were also in (virtual) attendance, viewers saw special cameos from Venus Williams and the OG Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter.

While there’s no new date for the release of 1984, there was a new trailer which officially debuted Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah’s look. The film’s plot seems to focus on an offer from Pascal’s Maxwell Lord to the public, stating that anything people want or anything they can “dream of, [they] can have.” The sudden and mysterious reappearance of Chris Pine’s long-departed Steve Trevor, combined with this menacing statement from Lord, hints that the power suit-clad villain may be responsible for bringing back Diana’s (Gal Gadot) lover. 

Meanwhile, Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Ann Minerva and Diana’s dynamic hinges around a perceived wrong. “You’ve always had everything, while people like me have had nothing,” Minerva states. This pits the two against one another while Maxwell pulls strings as the master puppeteer. Minerva fully embraces her “apex predator” status towards the end of the trailer with some special effects work that puts Cats to absolute shame. Oh, and in the same way we had Steve being a guide for a fish-out-water-Diana in the first movie, the roles will be reversed in 1984; the trailer ends with Steve getting his own fashion montage in the same way Diana had hers in the first movie. Steve seems to adapt well enough, as the sporty Nike Cortez’s that briefly appear look great on Chris Pine.

'The Flash'

It turns out it’s rather fitting DC originally wanted Phil Lord and Chris Miller involved with The Flash. The Erza Miller-starring, Andy Muschietti-directed standalone feature for the Scarlett Speedster looks more and more like it’s going to be inspired by the duo’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse—but with Batmen instead. 

A loose adaptation of the popular “Flashpoint” storyline, the movie will explore Barry’s backstory and introduce the concept of the DC Multiverse to general audiences. The Flashpoint comic hinges around Barry Allen traveling back in time to save his mother from being killed. In doing so, he sets off a chain reaction and fundamentally alters the timeline in the process: Bruce Wayne’s father is Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman are fighting to control the world, and Superman spends his days as a lab rat, to name a few. In Muschietti’s version, Barry will still time-travel to save his mother but will somehow intersect with a few different versions of Batman along the way.

We knew Micahel Keaton would reprise his role, but earlier this week it was also announced that Ben Affleck’s version of Bruce Wayne would appear. While The Flash has yet to start filming, Muschietti showed concept art of Barry’s new, “more organic” suit built by Keaton’s Batman. One of the other pieces of concept art showed the two together in the Batcave as they fought unknown assailants, with Keaton in the iconic 1989 Batsuit.

The multiverse—and by extension, The Flash—will allow DC to really have their cake and eat it too, bringing together all these different versions of iconic comic book characters into one unified front. It’s an ambitious task, and it will be interesting to see how The Flash pulls everything together. Can we get Will Arnett’s Lego Batman in this too?

'The Suicide Squad'

“[This was] a warm and wonderful set.” This quote from actor Peter Capaldi was earnest, sure, but I can’t help but think of it as a direct contrast and resetting of expectations around The Suicide Squad. The sequel is helmed by Guardians of the Galaxy director/writer James Gunn in what was initially a bit of a coup for DC after he was dismissed from Marvel over some bad tweets. While Gunn eventually found his way back into the director’s chair for the third Guardians movie, he made a pit stop to revamp DC’s ragtag group of villains entirely. If Capaldi’s note isn’t just lip service, he seemingly brought a nice bit of comradery to the set too—something that was perhaps missing on the shenanigans-filled set of David Ayer’s original movie.

While Gunn is still working on editing the film, he revealed who each of his star-studded cast would be playing. Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis will all return as Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Rick Flag, and Amanda Waller respectively. Joining them this go-round is a combination of beloved character actors, Gunn-troupe favorites, and others including Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, John Cena as Peacemaker, Nathan Fillion as T.D.K., Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, Alice Braga as Solsoria, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Mayling Ng as a gender-swapped Mongal, Sean Gunn as Weasel, and Steve Agee as King Shark. You can see the full cast reveal video below.

#TheSuicideSquad Roll Call! (thanks to @grandson for the tune!) pic.twitter.com/Dea21xZWUl

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 22, 2020

There are many deep-cut DC characters here—I sincerely cannot believe we’re getting Polka-Dot Man and The Thinker in a major blockbuster, for example. While that’s exciting for diehard comic book fans, the inherent danger of the missions the Squad undertakes means that not everyone is bound to make it out alive. It is fitting, as gritty war movies of the 1970s-inspired Gunn’s take on the sequel. You can see more in this behind-the-scenes video feature that was also released.

While we’re still pretty far out from the films August 2021 release, but even in this early look, The Suicide Squad is certainly shaping up nicely under Gunn’s warm leadership.

'Static Shock' and Milestone Comics

As part of a surprise panel, DC unveiled the return of Milestone Comics. Founded in 1993 by a coalition of Black writers and artists, including the legendary Dwayne McDuffie, Milestone focused specifically on addressing racial minorities’ underrepresentation in superhero comic books. It wasn’t officially a part of the DC Universe even though the company distributed the comics themselves.

The most famous of Milestone characters was Static Shock, who was created by McDuffie and starred in an animated series for four years. Not only will Virgil Hawkins return in a Static Shock digital comic in February 2021 and as a graphic novel, but there’s a “serious conversation” at Warner Bros. about developing Static as a theatrical feature film. Considering the impact the animated series had on generations of fans, this is exciting—and long overdue—news.

The Snyder Cut

I still, really, cannot believe this movie is even happening—but it is. And so director/writer Zack Snyder took the virtual stage at Fandome to talk about his version of Justice League. Snyder confirmed that Cyborg (Ray Fisher) will be the “heart” of the movie and will see his storyline fleshed out considerably from the version that Joss Whedon finished. The director also hinted at a particular sequence involving some unknown bits of The Flash’s powers and an increased role in the movie’s plot.

Additionally, Snyder revealed that the movie would drop in four, one-hour installments with an eventual theatrical-type cut to come later. The trailer included below, is set to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and features previously unseen footage, including Darkseid (DC’s version of Thanos, basically), Kiersey Clemons’ version of Flash paramour Iris West, the Hall of Justice, and more. The trailer ends with Ben Affleck’s Batman saying while Darkseid has faced all kinds of enemies, he hasn’t met the Justice League “united.”

'Black Adam'

You’ve waited long enough. As have I, thousands of years to be exact.
The hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is about to change.
The man in black comes to crush them all. Join us now for the worlds first #DCFanDome. #Rage#NoCape #BlackAdam pic.twitter.com/UGKhZVWB6v

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 22, 2020

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time. This is the one that’s going to change everything.” It is wild it’s taken this long for Dwanye “The Rock” Johnson to attach himself to a superhero-related project, but Black Adam is the one he’s had his eye on for quite some time. Black Adam will focus on the origin of Teth-Adam, who lived in the fictional Kahndaq. This nation prospered under slave labor of people like Teth until he revolted and took control of the same power eventually granted to Shazam. Reborn as “Black Adam,” Teth served as judge, jury, and executor, liberating his people along the way—but not before he was locked away. Eagle-eyed viewers will note there was a subtle reference to this history in 2019’s Shazam! during Billy’s (Asher Angel) interaction with the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou.)

Black Adam is inherently an anti-hero, which will be an interesting and atypical role for Johnson. Additionally, Black Adam will also feature characters from the Justice Society, including heroes Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher as the foe Black Adam will square off against in the Jaume Collet-Serra-directed film when it releases on December 22, 2021.

'Aquaman' sequel

Since the Aquaman sequel won’t arrive until December 2022, it’s still a little too early to provide a lot of information on the Jason Momoa-led franchise. Instead, director James Wan and actor Patrick Wilson chatted about their shared work experience across five films and how their relationship further grew on the set of Aquaman. However, Wan revealed the second installment would be “a little bit more serious” than its predecessor. Part of the first movie’s charm is how it avoided the dour tones much of the DCEU had seen up to that point, so this news is a little disheartening to hear. Hopefully, the movie won’t shift gears completely. Wan also hinted Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master character will still be a part of the sequel, despite his defeat at the end of the first film.

'Shazam!'

Much like Aquaman, the forthcoming Shazam! sequel won’t arrive for another few years, so the only real news from the panel was that the upcoming second film would be titled Shazam: Fury of the Gods. It’s unclear whether Zachary Levi’s Shazam and Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam will go head-to-head, but we can only hope we’ll get to see the matchup soon rather than later.

'The Batman'

What a wonder a well-cut trailer can do to change the public perspective. Initial buzz around the first trailer for the Matt Reeves-written and directed, Robert Pattinson-starring Batman reboot appeared to be extremely strong if my timeline was any indication.

While Batman is often known as “The World’s Greatest Detective,” other cinematic versions haven’t fully explored this element until now. The Batman will see Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne take on a mystery haunting Gotham courtesy of Paul Dano’s The Riddler. Reeves revealed the movie’s tone draws its influence from noir films like Chinatown, Taxi Driver, and The French Connection with a real-world grounding to make it seem as if it could all “really happen.” The trailer itself comprises about “25%” of the final film, as corona-related complications shut down production earlier this year.

Reeves also stated this story is essentially a “Year Two” version of the character. We’re moving past the tired origin story of Batman (which hopefully means R.I.P. to seeing Martha and Thomas Wayne, well, R.I.P.) into a world wherein everyone, including the villains, is still coming into the identities we know and love. We see brief glimpses of Zoë Kravitz in burglar mode wearing a ski mask with just a touch of cat ears. Meanwhile, there’s an otherwise unrecognizable Colin Farrell as the Penguin— although Reeves stated he doesn’t like being called by that name. And Jeffrey Wright’s Commissioner Gordon gets a fair amount of screentime in the first part of the trailer while Andy Serkis’ Alfred is heard in voiceover.

The Riddler’s menacing, uh, riddles seem to indicate there’s more to Batman and Gotham’s past than perhaps even Bruce knows. However, one thing that’s abundantly clear to a group of Joker-inspired goons is this: While he might not be wholly Batman in name, this version of the infamous character is undoubtedly full of rage. And this trailer is loaded with enough tantalizing details and bold new directions to make the wait until October 21, 2021 all the more grueling. 

The Best New TV Shows & Movies This Week: 'Perry Mason'

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

In the first half of HBO’s Perry Mason, the gritty, True Detective-esque vibes felt tired and perfunctory, stunning Matthew Rhys performance and incredible visuals notwithstanding. That may have just been bait to hook early viewers, though. The show kicked into a whole new gear once this reboot started to more closely resemble the OG, lawyer version of the titular character that men 50+ all know and love. Rhys-Perry’s transition from P.I. to Public Defender clicks the series into place in a fun way—insofar as an often dour show like this allows itself to be fun.

A lot of that joy comes from the chemistry between Perry, Della (Juliet Rylance), and Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) as Perry Mason’s back half turns into a well-oiled ensemble piece. Watching the trio work together imbued the show with a fun hangout dynamic but smartly served as a window into the social politics of the era. What does it mean for Della to be a closeted queer woman in the 1930s? Hell, what’s it like for Paul Drake to be a Black beat cop? Perry Mason explores those issues with a depth other series may have only scratched the surface of, adding a layered richness to the show for future seasons to mine. 

Less successful is the ultimate conclusion of the Dodson case itself and the Sister Alice (Tatiana Maslany) subplot. As the trial continued, it became clear the resolution was to have the case either end with Emily Dodson’s (Gayle Rankin) innocence or a mistrial for Perry to continue to have any sort of career moving forward. Not to say it wasn’t a satisfying conclusion, but it certainly was a predictable one. The church-related plots where a great way to explore some of the religious-zealotry of the era and give Maslany a decidedly showy part, but the show itself felt a little bored with that particular storyline as the Dodson case drew to a close and shifted its focus to the origins of Mason & Associates.

As I watched the finale of Perry Mason, I found myself legitimately eager for what the (officially greenlit) sophomore season will hold for these portrayals of these specific characters. I’m not entirely sure why this first set of episodes was so dead set on providing the audience an origin story when the ending is so much more interesting than the journey we took to get there. The previous seven episodes have their moments, sure, but the conclusion felt stronger than everything before it. Still, I can’t stop thinking about how much more vibrant and robust Perry Mason could have been right out of the gate if the series didn’t primarily function as one extended pilot. In the closing moments, Perry lets the string he’s been holding onto float off into the wind. It’s a fitting conclusion—I’m keen to discover what thread Perry, Della, and Drake pick up next.